Seventeen
by AlexToYourOlivia
Summary: Olivia and Alex work together to solve a tough case. Will the stress bring them together or push them permanently apart? T rating for the violence of the case.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first attempt at publishing fanfiction and it's a long one. I've broken it down into chapters that I'll try to post each day. Reviews are more than welcome! I, sadly, do not own any of the characters of Law & Order: SVU and am only using them here for enjoyment, not monetary gain.

Seventeen

The case had been going on for six months; little girls would disappear and turn back up more than two weeks later at a place of worship within the city. It wasn't that simple, though. The murdering rapist would molest the girls for days it seemed, before slowly draining them of blood. When they were dead, they would be dressed in their "Sunday best" and brought to a church if they were Christian, a synagogue for the Jewish girls, a Mosque for the Muslim children and placed inside like little dolls; heads bowed, hands folded. Everything was placed perfectly. More than one officer had vomited at the crime scenes.

The first three girls were found in Catholic churches within blocks of one another making priests the prime suspects. That, of course, led to unrest within the city. The next girl, a Jewish tourist from Connecticut, was found by a rabbi who had a heart attack when he realized the girl was dead. The poor rabbi spent three weeks in the hospital. Victim number four was a Baptist from Fair Lawn, New Jersey; she went missing while with her family at a picnic at their church and was found in a small Baptist church in The City. Needless to say, the case was unpredictable. Never knowing when the next girl might turn up or from where she would be taken caused no small amount of strife for the NYPD, especially after the Feds showed up. Everyone expected the FBI to take the case after the victim from Jersey was found in New York but instead they just showed up and said the SVU could use their resources and that they would help where they could. Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler, partners in the 16th Precinct, appreciated the gesture but thought the FBI just didn't want to be embarrassed when they couldn't solve the case either.

The members of the SVU were taking the case hard. Detective John Munch was hardly leaving the station house, constantly updating himself on missing person's reports of all young girls from the Tri-State area. He didn't mind too much, though, because he didn't have anyone to go home to anyway. Odafin Tutuola had exhausted every CI he could think of to see if anyone had seen anything on the street. He kept returning over and over to past unsolved cases, unable to wait it out. In addition to checking cold cases, he checked in on his ex and his kid more often. The case was spilling into everyone's personal lives. Elliot spent as much time as possible with his own daughters, which was both unsettling and joyous for the family that had come to regard him as an absentee father. He needed to solidify those connections and reassure himself that his children were safe. Olivia spent every moment she could studying the victims. She felt that there was a key and she was missing it. It had been a long and painful case.

Then, finally, a priest down the street from their very precinct called the station house at 4 am claiming that a suspicious vehicle had parked in front of his church. While Benson called Stabler, Fin and Cabot, Munch sprinted three blocks to the side door of the sanctuary hoping back-up was preventing the car from being able to get away when he entered. Munch didn't disturb the villain as the man set the little girl up to kneel at the altar in a fluffy white dress. When Munch thought he was close enough he finally called out, "This is the NYPD! Put your arms straight out to the sides and do not move!"

"Well done, Detective Munch, I wondered which of you would answer the call."

"Unfortunately for you, it was me, now let's go," Munch growled out as he approached the man.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Detective, this is a church, and you can't have me in here. I believe it's called Sanctuary. I'm sure you understand that Big Brother has his limits."

"Are you kidding me? You've been dropping little girls in sanctuaries throughout Manhattan and now you think you get to claim one?"

"Yes, God will protect me from you. You can check with ADA Alexandra Cabot if you'd like to, but I'm quite right."

Feeling he had no choice, Munch radioed the Captain, "Cap, this creep is claiming sanctuary, what can I do? He said we could ask Cabot if we don't believe him. I'm not leaving him here alone."

"Is it our guy?"

"Yes, he showed up with Melissa's body and I watched him arrange her in the church."

"Alright, I'm calling Cabot."

Alex jumped as her phone rang again, "Yes, I'm on my way, Captain."

"It's not that, Cabot, listen, this guy's claiming Sanctuary; how can we get through that?"

"Oh, Jesus, of course, he is," Alex sighed in frustration, "We should have expected it."

"Well, what the hell do we do?"

"Nothing. Just make sure he doesn't get out and I'll be right there. I'm literally getting in a cab heading to the station house right now. Should I go somewhere else?"

"No, I'll have someone meet you; we're just a few blocks away."

Alex put her head back as she flipped her phone closed. This case was more disturbing than she wanted to think about. She knew she was supposed to stay distant but there were so many victims. This one, Melissa, was number sixteen. How could she stay detached from that? As the cab pulled up at the precinct, Alex saw Olivia waiting impatiently for her and the blonde quickly wiped the tears from her face and grabbed her briefcase. "Sorry you had to wait for me, where are we going?"

"Down this way." Olivia started walking quickly toward the flashing lights.

"Sorry, I should've known, the lights are there. I'm just, ya' know, I just woke up," Alex stammered.

"Listen, Alex, are you sure you want to go down there? If you go into the church you'll see the little girl," Olivia said quietly, finally looking at Alex's face. The Detective stopped the ADA with a gentle hand on her arm, "Your eyes…you look like you've been crying. Are you okay, Alex?"

"No, but neither are you. Let's just do what needs to be done and put this bastard away," Alex sounded stronger and gently squeezed the hand on her arm.

Nodding, Olivia agreed, "Okay, but make sure you stay back, we don't know what he took in with him or what's in his car. Don't come anywhere close to the church unless I tell you to. Got it?"

"Isn't Cragen at the scene?" Alex was surprised about the chain of command issue she had just heard coming out of Olivia's mouth.

"Yeah, he is, but he's focused only on getting the bastard and might not remember that you're not a cop, you're a lawyer. Don't come near it unless I tell you it's safe. Promise me?"

Alex flushed, not sure where this was coming from. Olivia had been so snippy with her lately that this protectiveness was quite unexpected. Sweet and thoughtful, yes, but unexpected. "I got it. Your voice alone."

"No, Alex," Olivia stopped them again, "promise me. I have such a bad feeling about this. Please promise me," Olivia was nearly whispering and had stepped squarely in front of the tall blonde and was very definitely inside her personal bubble. The detective's strong hands were on the attorney's forearms as she looked into her eyes. "Alex, please."

"Yes, Olivia. Yes, I promise. Just, I don't know, be careful. You're making me really nervous. You've had standoffs before. Why is this one different?"

"Because you'll be there."

With that interesting fact, the detective turned and walked away. Following a moment later, the counselor found herself watching the brooding detective closer than usual.

"Cabot, over here!" The two women heard Elliot shout from the sidewalk in front of the church.

Discreetly putting her hand up to stop Alex, Olivia jogged to her partner. "El, are you sure we should be so close to his car? Do we know if it's clean?"

"Questioning me now, Benson? It's my scene," Elliot said with the odd smirk he wore when he thought he was playing mind games.

"No, no, El, I'm just thinking on my feet," Olivia tried to play the humble card while she seethed inside, _Why is he being so obstinate? I hate testosterone._

"Alright, alright, let's go talk to Cabot over there," he said gruffly as he pointed generally across the street. He allowed Olivia to go first so it looked like he had sent her over. He watched as she gently put her hand on Cabot's back to guide her away from the church. Something about it made his brow furrow but he wasn't sure what. He'd figure it out eventually; in the mean time, he had a bad guy to catch.

"Captain wants to know if this asshole can really claim sanctuary in there. He carried in the body of a dead girl, can he really stay in there?" Elliot said quickly.

"The laws on this are really unclear. If I could talk to the priest I could probably get you in there to get him out but I need to then double check with Donnelly."

"Yeah, okay, he's around here." Elliot started to walk toward the church before he realized that Alex wasn't following; she was looking at Olivia.

"The priest's not in the church is he?" Olivia watched Elliot tense up as he heard her shocked tone.

"The guy's got no weapons, Liv, we're not gonna make a priest leave his church 'cause some creep walks in," Elliot answered angrily.

"I'm a little confused. I thought he claimed sanctuary; has he been searched?"

"No! We can't until Cabot clears us for it which will happen if you let me take her up there to talk to the priest!"

Olivia apologized and tried to explain to Elliot that she was just trying to keep the ADA safe when Alex interrupted.

"Is that the priest in question?"

Turning, Elliot saw Father Tom headed toward them being guided by Fin. "Yeah, he's the one you need to talk to."

As the priest walked up, Alex started explaining that sanctuary only held if the priest granted it so it was his decision whether or not they arrested the man currently kneeling on the altar inside.

"I feel that I need to offer him an opportunity for confession before I say yes or no to his claim of sanctuary. I have a great many people to think of in this situation. Surely, you understand all the implications of being in this awful position," Father Tom said grimly to Alexandra.

"I do, Father, but please also understand that this man is most likely the one who has left sixteen little girls dead all over Manhattan. I will wait out here for your answer."

"What!?" Elliot yelled, "How could you even consider granting sanctuary to this scum? What could you possibly have to consider? He's killed sixteen little girls; not just killed, but raped, tortured and bled them dry and now you're going to offer him confession. You can't do this! I'll arrest you for obstruction of justice!"

"Stabler! Over here, now!" It was the captain calling.

"Please, detective," Father Tom turned to Olivia, "I must contact my Archbishop and think of others who may need to seek sanctuary for other reasons. If I say no to this man, what if the next time, they seek it elsewhere with disastrous consequences? A church can be a refuge for all people; not only those who we think deserve it most, but for those who God knows need it most."

With that grave statement, the priest walked slowly back to his church, his shoulders held high, but his head hanging low.

"I understand, Father," Olivia said just loudly enough as he walked away.

"Detective, I need to call Donnelly. Where will you be so I can let you know what she says?" Alex asked Olivia quietly.

"I'll wait right here. Call her now." Somehow, even when Olivia was giving her orders, they didn't come out like orders, they sounded like requests.

Olivia tried not to listen too obviously as the ADA explained the situation to her superior, who, Olivia guessed, Alex had woken up a bit too early.

"Listen, Liz, I talked to the priest and he said he has to consult his archbishop as to whether or not he is going to grant sanctuary…Yes, I understand the enormity of these crimes…No, I don't want to lose the case before I get it…I'll see to it," Alex sighed as she flipped her phone closed.

"I take it she told you we should arrest him?"

"Mmm-hmm, take him no matter what the priest says. She doesn't think well on her feet when she's woken up like that."

"Well, we don't want to let him get away, do we?"

"No, of course, not! I just think that barging in that way isn't going to help us in the public eye. I don't know, or maybe it will. Maybe the average citizen just wants him caught and will be offended that he even tried to claim sanctuary. Public opinion is so fickle, I never know which way it'll turn," Alex sighed.

Inside the church, Father Tom had already spoken to the Archbishop and was kneeling next to the silent man on the altar. "My child," he began, "I feel that your soul is in need of cleansing. Would you like me to hear your confession?"

Turning his head eerily toward the priest near him, the murderer simply smiled for a moment before speaking, "I have nothing to confess. I, too, work for a higher power. I do his bidding on Earth and will be seated accordingly. Would you like me to hear your confession, Father?"

"No, I would not. I am sorry to tell you that I cannot offer you sanctuary here. You committed a crime in the sacred space and, as such, I must ask that you finish your prayers and leave. May you repent and seek the mercy of God." The good priest could not suppress a shudder as he walked away slowly from the disturbed and disturbing young man.

"You can't do that! She said you can't do that! Sanctuary! I came for sanctuary, Father, you must give it to me!"

The priest stood still for a moment before answering, "I offer sanctuary to those who need it. I offer it to those suffering souls who seek to cleanse themselves and be safe - not those who seek to hurt. I cannot offer sanctuary to one who fights against God. Remember, son, our God is a vengeful one." With that, Father Tom left the sacred altar of his church to pray for the decision he had just made. He knew he must seek solitude and forgiveness. He hoped God would understand.

Despite his surprise, Munch quickly placed the unknown man under arrest and read him his rights before bringing him back to the station house. The three block walk was taken in silence, witnessed by over ten other officers and by the time Munch had him in a room at the station house, Olivia, Elliot and Fin were there. The creep stared at Olivia before introducing himself to her as Jeremy Sean Baldwin and started talking about the little girls. How their skin was softer than hers and their hair was finer. When Cragen walked in, the perpetrator immediately lawyered up and the only person he would speak to was the ADA who was going to try his case, Alex.

When Alex arrived, Cragen showed her into the room and Jeremy instantly said he had news for her.

"Your lawyer hasn't arrived yet, Mr. Baldwin, are you sure you want to speak with me," the blonde attorney said dryly.

"Yeah, I'm sure, listen, you know that little princess who went missing on July 4th?"

"No."

"Well, I might know where she is."

"I've already said no, Mr. Baldwin."

"You're lying. She's been all over the news. She was taken right off the beach down in New Jersey; she still had a tiara on."

"What? I thought she drowned," Alex said suspiciously.

"Hmm, I don't think so," he grimaced.

Hoping the detectives were listening in the other room Alex pushed him to tell her what he knew of the little girl. "Well, if she didn't drown, where is she Jeremy?"

"If I tell you, will you let me go?"

"No, but I'll take the death sentence off the table."

The door opened, "That's enough, Miss Cabot; my client doesn't want to be harassed by you any more."

"Get the facts straight before you come barging in next time, Greg, your client asked to speak with me and was just agreeing to a deal."

"Well, if that's the deal you can do better," the slimy defense attorney smirked. Alex had never faced Gregor Scantaliola in court, but knew his reputation of shady tactics and backroom deals.

"Yes, ADA Alexandra Cabot, you need my information," Jeremy smirked, too.

"That's what I'm offering."

"She's still alive," Jeremy whispered.

Absolute silence greeted that shocking statement.

"But not for long," he looked away.

"Where is she?"

In the observation room Huang, Fin and Cragen watched nervously. "Man, I hope she don't blow it, that guy's loony," Fin said.

"She won't, Alex knows exactly what she's doing. She's got to keep him focused on her, on connecting himself to her, if she's going to get what she wants," Huang said quietly, "she can do this."

When he didn't answer Alex made another offer, it would be her last, "Plead guilty to all 16 counts of child rape and murder for the girls we found and serve concurrently."

"15 to 25 with parole," Gregor said haughtily.

Alex laughed harshly, "Please, have you ever tried a case before? Not a judge in the world is going to agree to that sentence. Your client raped and murdered sixteen little girls then left them in churches. Concurrent sentencing and no death penalty is a gift and it's all you're going to get from me."

"I can't just tell you, ADA, Alexandra Cabot. I can tell you, though, that I don't always stay in my apartment; sometimes my water bed doesn't rock me enough," with one final, intense look at Alex, Jeremy put his head on the table and fell asleep.

"I'll see you in court soon, Greg," Alex said on her way out.

Cragen met her at the door, "I'll meet you in the bullpen in a minute." He walked into his office quickly with Fin.

"Cabot, you've got to be kidding me!" Olivia nearly shouted as she entered the bullpen.

_What did I do now?_ The attorney thought.

"I just heard you made a deal with that sick creep! What were you thinking? He repeatedly raped over a dozen little girls and then bled them to death and you made a deal? How dare you?"

Without even waiting for an answer from the blonde, Detective Olivia Benson turned back around and left. Though used to being treated a bit roughly in the Special Victims Unit, having Olivia go off on her like that hurt more than she expected. She had thought Olivia was over the mistrust that plagued the beginning of their working relationship; she had thought they were working on a friendship, a very close friendship.

Loud footsteps behind her caused Alex to stiffen and turn, seeing the angry entrance of another detective working the same case. "What, Stabler? Get it out," she said crossly.

"It's been a really bad case, Alex, and we're disappointed that you would make a deal with such a scumbag," he said in disgust, neither of them realized she was crying, "We thought you wanted justice for the kids, not just another win in your column." He, too, stormed out.

"Well, you know-"

"Shut up, Munch, you guys have no idea what you're talking about," Alex spat as she turned to face what she thought was going to be another onslaught. She was unprepared for the tissue and bottle of water he was holding out her way. "Oh! Uh…sorry, I just," she paused, "I'm sorry. What were you saying?" Alex took the tissue and quickly dabbed the tears off her face.

"I was just going to say, you know Olivia was the first one to find the last vic from this freak. Olivia took it real hard, felt like she should've saved the kid. It didn't matter that she was killed somewhere else, Olivia wanted to save her and took it personally when she showed up in her church. Not the one tonight, the one before that. So, that's why she's all shook up."

"Listen, Munch, did you hear what that guy was saying?"

"Not really, I walked away when he started talking about soft skin. I just can't take these creeps sometimes."

Just then Fin Tutuola walked up, "So, Alex, you think he meant it? What can you do for us on warrants? Hey, do I needa kick a little Munchkin butt here, why you so upset?"

"Don't look at me man, I learned with wife number two how not to make 'em cry."

"I'm fine, Fin, but warrant for what exactly? I thought the captain sent a whole group of cops to search his apartment when we got his name, didn't he? Where else is there?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" While Alex and Fin told Munch what she'd just gotten out of the dirt bag, Cragen came over in his coat.

"I thought Benson and Stabler were back," he said before giving them his news, "this guy has a boat but it's not in the marina where it's usually docked. We gotta find it, fast. Alex, we're gonna head to the river, you work on a location from Jeremy. When you get it call one of us. We have to find this girl now. If he's already started bleeding her we may have only a matter of an hour or so."

The tall blonde dove back into the fray thinking how it would have been nice to have a quick moment of support from a pair of chocolate brown eyes before being confronted with such a blatant piece of trash.

George Huang stayed with Alex to talk to her before she went in to grill the bastard. "Alex, you don't have to do this. I can go in there instead of you or with you if you'd prefer. You're not alone in this."

"Really, George, because I feel like I am. She - I mean, they just jumped down my throat for making a deal with him without even considering I might have a good reason and now I have to go back in there." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before walking toward the door. When she turned to answer George, she saw Olivia rushing in behind him, a soft look in her eyes. Alex didn't respond to the woman, she looked at George, "I'm going in alone. He talked to Detective Benson first and then to me, it's a girl thing." The tall blonde quickly entered the interrogation room, knowing she should've waited until she was more balanced.

"Huang!" Olivia shouted.

"Yes, Detective?"

"You can't send her in there without backup! She's not prepped for this crap! She shouldn't have to interrogate him, what are you thinking?" Olivia rushed toward the door, stopping only when Huang put a gentle hand on her arm.

"Olivia, he talked to her before. He wasn't threatening toward her in any way and she knows we need this information. She chose to go in alone."

"I don't care who chose it, I'm not leaving her in there alone," Olivia shook him off and tapped on the door. When she stuck her head in, Alex turned toward her, eyebrows raised in question. "Excuse me, Counselor, may I speak with you moment?"

Though upset at the intrusion, Alex nodded and stood to leave. "I'll be back in a moment, Jeremy, I suggest you sit up."

Olivia closed the door in the observation room behind Alex. The two women stood looking at one another for a long moment, tears shining in the blue eyes but being held back by sheer force of will.

"Alex-"

"What happened to 'Cabot'? I thought you were back to the last name treatment," the lawyer spit out at the detective.

"I know and I was so out of line. I can't believe I just pounced like that, I'm truly sorry."

"It doesn't matter, Detective, now I know. Can I get back in there so you can find the last missing girl?"

"It does matter, Alex, this conversation's not over but you're right we should finish the case first. Can I go back in there with you? He talked to me, too and I don't want you in there alone. You shouldn't have to talk to guys like that alone," Olivia finished quietly, stepping closer to the lawyer.

"Fine, come in with me if you want to but I'm going now," Alex brushed quickly by Olivia, then paused at the door to look back briefly at the detective, "I'm not sure I want to finish the other conversation." Before Olivia could say anything, though, Alex had the door open and was moving back toward the interrogation room.

As the two women walked in, Jeremy sat up and stretched, "That was a nice nap. Ahh, perfection, Alexandra and Olivia. How are you Detective Benson? Did you have a nice chat with my lawyer friend here?"

Alex sat at the table across from Jeremy and Greg while Olivia stood behind her, arms crossed. "Where is she?"

"Counselor, didn't you tell her I tried to help you before?"

"Listen, I've given you a really good deal for someone in your position but if we don't find this little girl soon, I'm taking it back," Alex was playing tough. Though, she wasn't quite sure if she was doing it for the victim or to prove herself to the detective.

"I don't think you have given me a very good deal. My lawyer here seems to think I can get better. He told me to hold out for the next step. He says that if I give in too soon I'm giving something up, but it's okay, I know now's the time, Alexandra and Olivia." Then, Jeremy leaned forward and whispered, "I think he's working for her, too, Alexandra and Olivia, be careful." He slid a little further away from his lawyer.

"You killed 16 innocent little girls. You're lucky you're getting any deal at all out of her," Olivia jumped in.

"You sound protective of her now. You didn't sound protective before when you were shouting at her," Jeremy goaded, "and that wasn't very nice detective, I don't like it when my ladies shout at each other."

"Your ladies?" The women said in unison as the defense attorney rolled his eyes.

"Yes, you two are my ladies. Alexandra and Olivia. Come on, Counselor, you're a smart woman, don't you know the magic number?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Why do you keep saying our names?"

Olivia stepped forward so she was next to Alex, ready to protect her if the cretin across the table attacked in any way.

"Alexandra and Olivia is 17, didn't you know? Just like my name is 17."

"Your name is Jeremy," Alex said slowly. She looked at Greg, who was shaking his head at his client.

The two lawyers and the detective just stared at the criminal while he smiled and his eyes glowed with the secret of his crimes.

"Yes, my name is Jeremy, 6, Sean, 4, Baldwin, 7. See? 17. Alexandra and Olivia is 17."

"There really is another girl. Where is she? Tell us, you bastard!" Olivia had reached the end of the line.

"I can't just tell you! I need a nap." Again, he put his head on the metal table and fell asleep.

"Well, I think we're done here ladies, if you'll excuse me, I need to go prepare for the arraignment," Greg left quickly. He was clearly uncomfortable in the presence of the two strong women.

Going back to the bullpen, Olivia motioned for two uniforms to watch Jeremy. She sat heavily at her desk racking her exhausted brain for another clue as to where the girl could be hidden.

"Detective, how long have you been working this case," Alex asked quietly.

"Six months, just like everybody else."

"Okay, have you ever investigated anyone for it?"

"Yeah, I don't remember the name. Let me look. It was, uh, Jacob Cranning, he had an apartment at 17 West 17th Street," she paused, "Holy shit. This guy's crazy."

"Liv, we have to get to that apartment now. There's a good chance that's where she is."

The women ran from the precinct, calling Cragen from the car they made their way to the apartment building.

"Alex, do I need a warrant?"

"Let me make a call but please, Olivia, wait for back-up. You don't know what's in that apartment."

"I don't have time to wait, that little girl could die. Look, I see the lights coming now."

"Then let me go up with you to make sure we're clear for a search," Alex shouted as she ran to catch up with Olivia.

The doorman let them in and pointed them to the general manager. She listened to the situation but told them they must be mistaken.

"What? No this has to be it. We investigated Jacob Cranning for this case. She's got to be here," Olivia's hands were shaking with the stress and adrenaline coursing rapidly through her blood stream.

"I remember that and shortly thereafter he moved out. He's been gone for four months and that apartment is now rented by a young couple and their daughter."

"Oh, shit," Olivia said, "are you sure it's a couple? When's the last time you saw the girl?"

"Well, I don't know, really. She's very sick and her father was carrying her the last time I saw them."

"All three of them?"

"No, just the dad and the little girl. She was all dressed up and - oh, my God. She was all dressed up. Oh, my God," she covered her hand with her mouth as she said the last bit.

"Yeah, that's right, now, when was that?"

"Probably two months ago. Oh, my God, I'm gonna be sick," she said quickly. She was right. The young woman turned and vomited into a trashcan behind her desk.

"Listen, we think he's got another girl up there right now. You've got to let us in."

"Okay, let's take the staff elevator, it's quicker."

The three women jogged over to the elevator and waited impatiently for it to come down and take them back up.

Finally, they arrived and Olivia stopped Alex again, "Please, wait here by the elevator."

"Olivia, I'm not a baby, would you just go!"

Pounding on the door and announcing her presence, the detective got her gun set in her hands. When no response was forthcoming, she motioned the manager to open the door

With the door unlocked, Benson checked to make sure the attorney was still by the elevator and then motioned for Danielle, the manager, to move that way as well. The detective announced loudly, "NYPD, I'm coming in!" She slowly pushed the door, felt a light resistance and heard a strange rustling sound as it moved inward.

"Olivia, please, wait for someone else to get up here."

"I can't."

"If you really want to help the last girl, you will! I can't do anything with any evidence you find if you get it this way. You know you shouldn't go in alone. You know, Olivia," Alex was speaking so low at the end that Olivia could barely hear her.

"Alright, I'm waiting right here. Go get the uniforms and bring them up."

"I'll go!" The manager hit the elevator call button and stepped in when the doors immediately opened.

As the doors closed on her panicked face, Alex spoke again, "Olivia, thank you. I know you want to go in there but waiting is the right call. You shouldn't go in alone."

"I'm still going in first, Alex. I have to find her."

"We don't even know if she's here. Olivia, he could have her anywhere. We don't know if this was even the place he was talking about. He could have her on his boat."

"I know that! I have to try, though. There are already people on the boat, we have to check everywhere. We know he used this place."

"No, we don't. The manager said it was a couple with a child, Olivia why would that be Baldwin? It could be a family with a sick kid!"

"Yeah, Cabot? Then why didn't anyone answer the door? If it's just a normal couple with a kid, shouldn't someone be home at 6:30 in the morning?"

The elevator opened again as the women stared at each other.

"Alright, Benson, we're good to go in," one of the patrolmen said.

"Right, you two stay back," Olivia said again to Alex and Danielle.

The detective again held her gun in her right hand as she used her left to slowly push on the door. She paused momentarily to consider the slight rustling noise she heard. Making eye contact with one of the uniforms, Benson furrowed her brow a bit and tilted her head toward the apartment. The officer shrugged back, he didn't know what the sound was, either. The detective pushed the door a bit farther and saw a sheet of thick, clear plastic on the interior wall. She assumed that was the rustling sound she had heard and continued to slowly push the door open. As it went, she saw more and more plastic and realized it was on the floor and ceiling, too. Suddenly, Olivia realized why he would cover an apartment in plastic. He drained her blood. He was protecting the floors, walls and furniture from spillage. For the first time since she could remember, and certainly the first time in Alexandra Cabot's experience, Olivia Benson vomited at a crime scene.

"I'm sorry, guys, I'm sorry. Just gimme a sec. Be prepared for this, it's gonna be seriously awful. He covered," Olivia stopped herself when she looked at Alex's face, "Alex, please, please walk away."

"I'm fine, Detective, just do what needs to be done."

But Olivia couldn't. She couldn't just open that door and allow Alex to see the horrendous death scene she knew would be there. So Olivia did what needed to be done, she turned to one of the uniforms behind her and said, "Keep her well away from the door. I don't want her to see what's in here." After Officer Mitchell nodded, Olivia squared her shoulders and resolutely pushed the door in.

As it turned out, Olivia needn't have worried about what Alex would see inside the apartment; she should've worried about what Alex would see in the hallway, namely, Olivia's motionless body lying on the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's chapter 2, I'm almost done with the whole thing and will post the rest of it shortly. I hope it's enjoyable. Please review, let me know if you love it or hate it so I can adjust accordingly.

As it turned out, Olivia needn't have worried about what Alex would see inside the apartment; she should've worried about what Alex would see in the hallway, namely, Olivia's motionless body lying on the floor. Before either of the young officers could even begin to secure the doorway, the counselor was kneeling next to the detective opening the prone woman's blazer and simultaneously searching her for a pulse. When her shaking hands found one on Olivia's neck, the detective groaned and blinked slowly. Alex didn't even realize she was crying until Olivia spoke, "I think it's raining in the hallway."

"No, you idiot, it's me. I'm sorry, I'm crying on you. Are you alright?"

"Alex? You're touching me?"

"I was trying to make sure you're okay. What happened?"

"I have no idea. I was going to ask you the same thing. Can I get up?"

"Please, just wait a minute and let your head clear. Whatever it was that hit you sent you airborne before you landed flat on your back. It looked like one of those things you would use to break a door down and it just swung right out and hit you in the chest. Does it hurt? Do you think you broke anything?"

"Cabot! You're babbling," Olivia said with a smirk.

"Apartment's clear, Detective! Nothing here but a bunch of plastic tarps and some paint."

"Don't touch anything," Olivia tried to call back to the cops inside but it came out quieter than normal and then caused her to cough.

"Please, you're not okay, just keep quiet and let me call an ambulance."

"Alex, you know I'm not going to the hospital. Listen, get those guys out here and tell them to call SVU CSU and wait for them in the hallway. You and I need to get out of here and find the last girl."

"Please, Olivia, you can't. You've got to be hurting. Please go get checked out. Please," Alex begged.

"I promise to get checked out soon but I want to find this girl. I have to. She needs us. I feel like we're the key, like we're the only ones who can do it. I feel like we have to. You and me." With that, Olivia reached up and put her hand on Alex's cheek.

Sighing, Alex tried to blink away more tears but that just made them roll faster down her cheeks. "Let's go, then, Detective. Just remember, I'm taking you to the hospital as soon as we get her back."

"Deal. Now, where are going?"

"I have no idea. Let's at least get out of here." The women stood slowly and Alex spoke quietly to the two police officers standing in the doorway doing her best not to look inside the apartment before her. She did, however, see the battering ram suspended from the ceiling on a complicated set of pulleys.

"Is that what hit me?" Olivia nodded her head toward the contraption.

"I think so. He must've spent a long time rigging that to go off so perfectly."

They got into the elevator and Olivia rested against the wall just trying to breath; she kept her eyes closed but she could feel Alex's stare on her the whole way down. As the elevator doors opened, Alex put her arm out and tilted her head at the detective who slowly tucked herself into the attorney's hold and reached her own arm around Alex's trim waist. To anyone not looking too closely they seemed to be just another couple going out for the day but Alex was doing her best to help Olivia stay standing up. Just as they reached the doors Olivia felt Alex shudder again.

"What is it?"

"It's just…I don't know, never mind."

"No, it's okay, just tell me, Alex."

"Oh, so it's Alex again?" Regretting it the moment it left her mouth, Alex felt Olivia sag a little and try to pull away. "No, don't go. I'm sorry, really, I am. I shouldn't have said that. It's not what I was thinking."

"Well, what were you thinking then," Olivia quietly questioned.

"It just scares me how bad that could've been. And…and it scares me that it scares me. Ya' know?"

"Uhh, not really."

"Olivia," Alex started as she opened the passenger door for the cop, "I just watched you get hit in the chest by a battering ram that could just as easily have been a shotgun." Alex paused, waiting for the detective to sit in the car and then crouching down on the sidewalk so she and Olivia were face to face. "It terrified me to see that and I don't know what I would've done if it were worse. On top of that, what I felt when I saw it scared me, too."

Olivia was transfixed by the softening in the ice blue eyes before her; she inhaled to respond but was stopped by the other woman speaking again, "I don't think that now is a good time for this conversation. I don't know if there will be a good time, especially after what happened earlier but right now, we have to find that little girl."

As the car door shut, Olivia felt her own tears well up. _We will finish this conversation. I can't have blown it all to hell with one stupid outburst._

Alex started the car and shifted into drive. She tried not to jump when she felt the other woman's hand cover her own on the shift and briefly looked over at the darker haired woman. The eye contact told her that Olivia wasn't going to let things go so easily, which, if she were honest with herself, made her ecstatic.

"Should we go back to the station house?"

"Yeah, let's talk to him again. I'll check in with Cragen."

So, while Alex maneuvered the car back around Manhattan, Olivia spoke with the captain who said the rest of the squad was heading back there, too, with the exception of a few patrolmen who were staying to preserve chain of evidence during the CSU's inspection of the boat.

"Cap says we're all regrouping at the one-six. Nothing on the boat, either. What the hell did he mean, then?"

"What did he say again?"

"Aside from a lot of stupid nothing, he said 'Alexandra and Olivia is 17' which means something in his crazy head and he said 'sometimes my water bed doesn't rock me enough' and we thought that meant his boat."

"What if he didn't?"

"If he didn't mean his boat than I have no clue what he did mean. Doesn't rock me enough? What else would rock you?"

"Did we really investigate him? Does he own any other properties? Have we checked his home, his car, his job?"

"Yeah, Cragen put people on it while we were still all at the scene."

The women fell silent, each thinking about what the disgusting man awaiting them could have meant.

When they pulled up outside the precinct, Alex looked Olivia right in the eye and said in her best I'm-a-lawyer-and-I'm-in-charge-voice, "Wait right there for me."

In response, Olivia merely smiled a little and nodded. _Why am I so distracted? There's a little girl waiting for me to find her and I lose my train of thought over one look from Cabot? The Cabot that I couldn't stand when I first met her? The Cabot that I spend so much time with? The Cabot that I'd like to spend more time with? The case, Liv, it's all about the case. Focus on the case. Focus on the case you're working with Alex. Tall, blonde, beautiful Alex. Oh, shit…_

"Olivia?" Alex was waiting with the door open, "I can take you to the hospital now if you want. I'm not trying to pressure you, you just didn't look too happy just then. Is it getting harder to breath?" Alex was crouched down again, leaning into the car a bit so that no one would overhear their conversation.

"Yeah," Olivia said softly, then, louder, "No. No, I'm fine, just a little dazed. Short night, long morning, you know how it is."

"If you're sure," Alex trailed off, leaving Olivia an opening to change her mind.

"I'm sure. Let's get inside and figure out where this little girl is. We're running out of time."

Alex rested her hand gently on the other woman's knee, "Olivia, let me help you up. I don't want you to strain anything getting out of the car. I'm worried."

"Thank you," was all the detective said as she reached up and held Alex's forearm with one hand to hoist herself up. _Yep, definitely some cracked ribs in there. I can work with those, though._ "Don't tell anyone I'm…hurting, please. I don't want to be pulled right now, that little girl can't afford it."

"I won't, but only because you promised me that you would let me take you for x-rays later."

"I did?"

"Yup, sure did," Alex finished with a smirk.

When the two women finally made it up to the bullpen, the whole crew was there together.

"This is the last girl he took, the one from Jersey. Her name is Annabelle Rissotto and that's her latest picture; it's from when she was crowned Little Miss Jersey Shore. Needless to say, we have to find her. We haven't informed anyone that he said he has her because she was presumed dead after everyone thought she drowned at the beach. Okay, here's what we know: he's got another girl somewhere, she's not on his boat, she's not in either of the two apartments we know about, she's going to die if we don't find her soon, and he's not going to help us at all," the captain said when he saw Olivia and Alex walk in.

"How did he afford two apartments in the city? Did he have an inheritance somewhere or a trust fund?" Munch asked.

"Good point, get on that. Where are we on the background search? Do we have anything concrete?"

The team hemmed and hawed about what they did and did not know about Jeremy Baldwin.

"Okay, he talked to you two, Alex, Liv, go at him again. You must get the location from him. Huang, I want you watching, get us something useful."

"Captain, has anybody figured out what he meant about rocking?" Olivia still had that statement stuck in her head. She was sure that was the key to finding the kid. _Sometimes my water bed just doesn't rock me enough. What the hell does that mean?_ "Are we sure she's not on his boat? It's gonna be a really elaborate set-up with plastic covering everything and paint cans for – well, for stuff," she finished lamely, glancing at Alex out of the corner of her eye.

"What?" Alex asked quietly. She was totally bewildered. _Paint cans? Plastic? Is that what was at the last scene?_ "Olivia? Is that…that's what…Oh, my God." Alex left, heading quickly for the locker room.

A few minutes later, she heard the door open behind her. Quickly splashing water on her face and rinsing her mouth out, Alex turned to see Olivia come in behind her. "Sorry, I left so fast. I'm fine. What else do we know now?"

"Alex," Olivia said quietly, "I'm sorry for being so blunt. I didn't mean to upset you like that. I should have thought more carefully about what I was saying." She was slowly walking toward Alex.

"No, I'll have to talk about it at the trial anyway. I just wasn't prepared for what all that meant. I understand now why you were trying to keep me away from the scene but I'm a big girl, I can handle this shit. That's why I'm working SVU." By the time she finished, Olivia was standing in front of her again. "Olivia, I can't do this right now."

"Okay. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. This is an awful case and we're honestly nowhere near finding that girl. She's been gone for almost two full weeks, which means we have four days left to figure out where the hell she is," Olivia said in such a discouraged voice that Alex couldn't help but reach out to her.

When her hand touched the detective's shoulder, Olivia looked up and stared directly into Alex's eyes. Stepping forward again, Olivia put herself exactly in front of Alex's body. She put her hands gently on the taller woman's narrow hips and exhaled slowly. She kept everything slow and calm, not wanting to spook Alex again. Tugging tenderly, Olivia pulled Alex into her for a hug. She slipped her arms around the trim waist in front of her and closed her eyes as she inhaled the musky and slightly tangy scent of Alex's body and perfume. _Vanilla, cloves and citrus is exactly this smell. Is that why I've been dreaming of those things for the past few months?_

The other woman in the tight and tender embrace was thinking nothing. Alex's mind was completely blank for a moment as she wanted to simply remember the feel of being in Olivia's arms for the first time. _Soft and hard, loose and tight but all warmth. I knew she'd feel this way. I knew she'd feel like coming home. She feels exactly the way I've been dreaming for the past few months._

Burying her face in Alex's neck, Olivia stretched her arms as far around the other woman as she could, she was practically back to herself she was holding her so tightly. She felt Alex's hand on the back of her neck beneath her hair and her breath caught in her throat. _I'll never be able to let her go. I've finally gotten my arms around her and I'm staying like this forever._

Resting her cheek on top of Olivia's, Alex held back just as tightly as she was being held. She felt tears come to her eyes as Olivia's hands gently rubbed her sides and found the courage somewhere to run her hands through the hair she'd wanted to touch for as long as she could remember knowing this strong, brave, wounded, imperfect woman. _She's holding me. She's holding onto me. She seems like she needs me, too. She's in my arms and I'm in hers. I'm staying like this forever._

They stepped back suddenly, though, as they heard a knock on the locker room door, "Cabot, you okay?" They heard Captain Cragen call. They stood staring into one another's eyes for a moment before Alex responded.

"Yes, I'll be right out."

"Are you okay," the detective asked very softly, "I mean, with everything? I mean, are you okay with that? What I mean is…I don't know what I mean." Olivia's cheeks turned red and she suddenly couldn't make eye contact with Alex.

"Honestly, Olivia, I'm not sure. You alternately make me feel like a million dollars and a total moron. I have no idea whether I'm coming or going right now." When Alex tried to sidestep Olivia, the detective stepped in front of her.

"Alex, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped down your throat earlier. You made the right call and I should have known that."

"You don't trust me professionally, Olivia. You're constantly second-guessing my decisions both here and at trial. I put up with it because sometimes you can be so sweet and you act like you think I'm great and that I know what I'm doing and you're supportive and protective and I love it. Other times, though, you make me feel awful. Like this morning, when you jumped down my throat without even waiting to find out that he has another girl. It hurt me so badly that you think I would make a deal with such scum for no good reason. When are you going to trust me?"

"I do trust you, Alex. I'm sorry. How many more times can I apologize? I'm sorry for being such a jerk. I can give you all the reasons I did it but none of them will be good enough. I can't even promise never to be such a jerk again but I can promise I'll try not to be. Please, Alex, I'm sorry," Olivia finished on a whisper.

"I hear you, Olivia, but I'm not sure what to do about it. Can we finish this case first? I promise to talk to you about this again but I can't right now. All I can think about is this missing little girl that everyone thinks is dead."

Olivia nodded, looking at the ground as she turned away from the tall blonde. She stepped toward the door but paused when Alex touched her hand and said, "I promise we'll talk about it again, Olivia, after the case is over. Okay?"

"Okay."

The captain called Alex to his office as soon as the two women stepped back in front of the board. It had on it the pictures of all sixteen girls they had already found with lists of pertinent details on each of them and their parents. There was a new section in the middle with the heading "Jeremy Sean Baldwin" and all of the information they had on him so far, which wasn't much.

"Great, so we know nothing," Olivia said scathingly.

"Well, we know he's obsessed with the number seventeen and that, somehow, you and Cabot fit into that delusion. We know he has at least two apartments in the city and a boat all of which had the same materials found at them. We know he must have access to at least one other apartment, house, or boat because we haven't found any signs of anyone actually living in any of the three places we've searched," Elliot told his partner.

Huang spoke up, "I think he's suffering from some form of schizophrenia. The obsession with seventeen and the hallucinations that a higher power is speaking to him and through him tell me that he doesn't think he's done anything wrong. He knows you all, he's been watching you try to solve this case and he's smarter than he thinks he is. He's left no trace evidence at any crime scene but he doesn't even realize that. He's sure this higher power has been helping conceal him. That's why he came as calmly as he did. In his mind, it was time."

"So, how do we get through? How do we get him to tell us where she is?"

"I'm not sure you can," Huang said quietly, "I'm not sure you can convince him to do anything because he lacks any kind of guilt or compassion. In his mind he exists to do the bidding of another."

Alex came out of Cragen's office then and quickly explained that Donnelly had pulled every string she had to get Baldwin's arraignment to be first on someone's docket. That meant that Alex had thirty-five minutes to get into court and be prepared to keep this guy locked up.

"I'll drive you over," Olivia told her.

"Like hell you will! We have an open case with a missing kid, Benson! You're staying right here to find this girl," Elliot shouted at her.

The captain's eyebrows shot up as he heard the detective shouting at his partner. "Uh, actually, Benson's taking Cabot to court and we'll call her cell if we figure anything out. Huang, tag along with Liv and Alex so you can observe the interview and help them get the information out of Baldwin that we need. Munch, go with them, too so we have two detectives in the interview. Cabot, we clear on today's actions?" The captain asked with a strange tone to his voice.

"Yep, Cragen got it covered. See you later. Ready, Benson?" Alex tried to hide her little smirk at teasing Olivia with the last name treatment.

As the group stepped out of the front of the building, Huang and Munch were shocked to see Olivia willingly drop the keys into Alex's outstretched hand. The men gave one another a knowing glance and looked carefully away as the icy attorney helped the impulsive detective into the front seat of the detective's own car. After closing Olivia's door, Alex stared at Munch for a moment before saying, "I don't expect to hear a word of this again, and especially not in front of Stabler. She's really injured, at least a few cracked ribs and probably a concussion. I'm taking her directly to the hospital after she interviews Baldwin and you will not breathe a hint of this to anyone, either of you."

Nodding carefully, the men got into the backseat and Alex got behind the wheel. The drive over to the courthouse was uneventful and Alex carefully helped Olivia out of the car again, sadly noting that the normally vibrant detective was all too quiet and pale for her liking. Arms once again around one another, Alex intoned quietly, "I'm really getting worried about you. As much as I try not to, I can't help but care. You look awful, Olivia Benson and you need to take it easy. The stupid thing hit you and definitely cracked some ribs and I'm fairly certain you have a concussion. If you just let me take you to the hospital we can keep it quiet but if you drop on the job, it's going to get reported."

"It's good to know you care. You don't look so awful, Alexandra Cabot," Olivia tried to joke, "I will let you take me to a doctor after this, okay? I can't keep it up too much longer. You were right, I do have some cracked ribs and a hell of a headache. Or maybe I'm faking just to get your arms back around me."

They both smirked a little at that and separated to follow Huang and Munch inside the building.

Olivia and the men waited on a bench in the hallway while Alex got the judge to agree not to let Baldwin out on bail. He was on his way to an interrogation room so Olivia and Alex could go after him again to find the location of the seventeenth girl.

Twenty minutes into the interrogation they still had nothing new from him.

"Alexandra and Olivia," the pedophile said again.

"What? We're sitting here in front of you, why do you keep saying that?" Olivia was so frustrated that she couldn't help but shout by that point.

"You are 17. Can't you see, you make perfection?"

"Greg, we'll be right back," Alex said to the other lawyer in the room.

Once they were in the hallway, Alex put her hand on the other woman's arm before she spoke, "Olivia, I don't get it."

"I don't get it either. What do we do now?"

"I don't know, but look at this," Alex said, handing Olivia her notepad.

What Olivia had thought were just doodles inside the room turned out to be all kinds of combinations of numbers and letters.

"Alexandra," Olivia said in a very low voice that made the counselor look up at her.

"What?"

"What is this? I don't understand. I thought we were interrogating someone and you were doing crazy math problems? What the hell is going on here?"

"No," Alex snorted a little, "I was trying to figure out how you and I are seventeen. When I first saw him he kept saying 'ADA Alexandra Cabot' and I see that that's seventeen letters. I get that he has that many letters in his name but he keeps saying 'Alexandra and Olivia' and that has eighteen letters. The associated numbers of the letters in those three words added together equal 167, and those three digits added together equal 14 which, when added, equal five."

"Do you really think he thinks this deeply into the number thing?" Olivia looked a little incredulous.

"Olivia Benson," Alex began, "I need you to think. How many kids did he take?"

"Seventeen girls."

"How long did he hold them?"

"Seventeen days."

"How many wounds did they have on their bodies?"

"Seventeen cuts."

"What was the address of the apartment you took me to?"

"17 West 17th Street, Apartment 17. Okay, I believe you. Do you think if we figure out what he meant by making us equal seventeen he'll tell us?"

"I freaking hope so."

The women sat there together on the bench scribbling furiously to make their names add up to that one stupid number.

"I feel like a pre-teen," Olivia whispered to the woman next to her.

"I know, me, too. Writing down our names together, you better watch out if I start drawing little hearts and arrows," the attorney blushed a bit as she gently bumped her shoulder against Olivia's. _Could I possibly give her any more mixed signals? I flirt, I run, I flirt, I run, I need to make up my mind._

Olivia looked directly at the younger woman's face, "I truly hope you do, my friend."

"Am I?" Alex asked quietly.

"Are you what, Alex?"

"Am I your friend?"

"Oh, sweetie, you're my best friend," Olivia said, placing her hand on Alex's leg. Rubbing gently, she went on, "I'm not really sure when it happened; I guess it just sort of developed over time that way. At first, I just wanted to talk to someone after the bad cases but, shortly after that, I realized I wanted to talk to you after the bad cases, then after all the cases then every day. There's no one as important in my life. It just continued to develop into what I feel for you now. Or, maybe, I always felt this way but I needed to recognize it slowly. In any case, I just know that you became my best friend and I'd really like the opportunity to make you more than that and to show you how much more I can be for you, too."

By the time Olivia finished her quiet, yet emotionally intense, discourse both women had fresh tears on their cheeks and had bent in even closer to one another. From the right angle, it looked like they were kissing, which is exactly what Huang and Munch thought when they stepped into the hallway to talk to the pair.

"Whoa, ladies," the older detective breathed as he glanced away.

"They're not, step closer," Huang said as he walked over to the women, announcing himself with a subtle clearing of the throat on his way. He said nothing further as they tried to subtly wipe their cheeks. Alex quickly let go of Olivia's hand so the detective could remove it from the attorney's thigh.

"Listen, Doctor, we think that, uh, maybe if we figure out why we equal seventeen he'll give us more information. What do you think?"

"That's probably a good idea, Olivia. He might feel like you understand his world if you prove that you understand that part of it. It's a good avenue in for some better communication at least."

"Well, we've been trying, but we can't seem to get it, we keep getting 167 which we can't get to make 17 at all."

"Well, don't look at it rationally. Use any means to make it equal 17 or any multiple of 17, particularly 289," Huang encouraged.

"Why 289?"

"Ah, 17 squared. Good thinking, doc," Munch interjected.

"Okay, do you have anything like that, Alex? I don't," Olivia said.

"Wait, wait, wait, I got it. Okay, this is crazy but if you add up the associated digits for Alexandra, it's 35 and for Olivia it's 32. That's 67," Alex said so quickly it was hard for the others to keep up.

"No, Alexandra is 80," Olivia disagreed, clearly confused.

"The numbers equal 80 but the digits, all separated equal 35. So, instead of saying the letter 'L' is 12, instead it becomes a one and a two and 'X' becomes a two and a four instead of 24. Do you see?"

"Okay, I get it, keep going."

"Well, in order to get his magic number, he has to manipulate a little here. Alexandra's digits and Olivia's digits equal 67 but the digits for 'and' equal 10. Instead of using 10 and getting 77, he added one plus zero, got one and added that to 67 so he got 68 and 68 divided by 4 is…" Alex trailed off and looked expectantly at Olivia.

"17?"

"Absolutely."

Armed with their new found, yet confusing knowledge on how the perpetrator's mind worked, the women entered the room where he was being held and presented him with their data.

"I knew you would understand. I could tell She spoke to you both when I saw that together you could be 17. I could tell right then and now, so can you. Did you get to her?"

"Not yet, Jeremy," Alex said quietly, eyeing his lawyer, "we just came back in to tell you about how we figured out 17. Also, we know you have the last girl. We know you do, even though everyone else doesn't believe it."

"How do you know?" He was intrigued that these two beautiful women could see into his world.

"Her name," Olivia said gravely, "her name is 17, just like yours. And just like ours together. And just like hers with her title." She tilted her head towards Alex.

"Excellent. Then you've realized where she is?"

"We can't go there, Jeremy. We have to follow certain rules about conduct and the constitution. We can't just invade your privacy like that," Alex played him like a fiddle.

"It's a shame, really," Olivia joined in, "I could explain to her. You know, about 17 and how her name is a key and she had to be chosen."

Jeremy's lawyer started to lean forward and thought about interrupting. He knew the women were playing his client but he also knew it would be better in the long run if they found the girl alive.

"Okay, I'll tell you, but you will be the only people who can do it. You have to understand the keys to find the kingdom," he said proudly. Motioning for her pen, he stretched his hand out toward Alex.

"Just a second! I have one you can use, Jeremy. Here you go and here's some paper, too," Olivia intercepted. She handed him a ballpoint pen as opposed to the cartridge he was reaching for and a sheet of yellow paper from a legal pad. He smirked at her as though he knew he'd made her nervous but she didn't care. She didn't want him reaching out to Alex for any reason.

Calmly and without moving much at all, Alex touched the tips of her fingers to the outside of Olivia's leg in a silent gesture of thanks.

When they got the paper from Jeremy that would, hopefully, lead them to little Annabelle Rissotto the women quickly left the room and nodded to the uniforms there to take the unbalanced man to be locked-up awaiting trial.

"What the hell does this scribbling mean, Alex? I can't make any sense of it."

Alex didn't answer though, because she was on the phone already with Cragen. She waved Munch over as she started speaking, "Cragen? Cabot here…We got some kind of map from Baldwin and I'm sending it to the station with Munch and Huang while Olivia and I look into something else…don't worry, I will…I'll let you know if I need to…yup, bye." Olivia narrowed her eyes playfully at the other woman as she suspected what the phone call was about. She didn't have to wait too long to find out, Alex spoke again, "Munch, Huang, take this to the station and start working on it. We'll meet you there soon. Olivia, you're with me, let's go."

They all knew better than to argue with the ADA when she got going in that tone of voice. Falling into step behind her, the three shared sly eye contact and little smirks.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm the Ice Queen but I did notice that you're all listening to me now, and, hey, that's progress," the blonde woman said sharply.

"Hey, I haven't called you the Ice Queen since the day I met you," Olivia said before she gasped and nearly doubled over in pain.

"What? What's wrong? Liv, are you okay?" Alex panicked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I tried to catch up to you," she said as she grasped Alex's outstretched hand. She added a bit louder to the two men, "I'm fine guys, just a stitch in my side. That's what happens when I have coffee for dinner and breakfast. It's fine. We'll see you at the station house in a little while."

Alex pulled her friend over to a bench, "I don't buy that for a second. Is it your ribs? Are you going to be okay? Please tell me how to help you," Alex begged as she squatted down in front of Olivia.

Olivia was shocked to see the tears building in the other woman's eyes. It was as though Alex felt Olivia's pain.

"It really did happen when I tried to catch up with you. I shouldn't have tried to jog. It's my ribs, yeah. They're killing me. I think my whole mid-section is swelling. Just, help me get to the hospital for x-rays. They'll give me some pain killers and it'll be fine. Just, ugh, just help me get there," Olivia finished.

She was so clearly in pain, it hurt Alexandra to even move her.

"Okay, Olivia, let's go nice and slow. Take your time and let me do the work here; now, grab my forearms and let me pull you up," Alex took charge again.

"I don't think you can, I'm heavier than I look," Olivia quantified.

"Trust me, Olivia. I know I can do this to help you; you just have to trust me. Okay?"

Nodding, Olivia gripped the other woman's arms and allowed Alex to pull her up. Grunting softly, Olivia leaned heavily on the woman supporting her.

"Olivia, talk to me. Talk through the pain and it'll help," Alex soothed.

"I can't, it just hurts. I'm trying to isolate the fractures. It feels like my whole abdomen is on fire," Olivia ground out slowly. "Okay, I feel it in the center of my body, like the cracks are all right down the middle. It goes from front to back. I feel like, like my back is tight. Top to bottom, my back can't relax. Is this what you meant?"

"Yeah, keep talking. It'll help detach you from what you're feeling. If you can analyze the pain, maybe you can separate it from yourself."

Chuckling a little, Olivia said, "I think that sounds like an old Cabot trick."

"You're absolutely right. My mother taught me that when I was very young. Separate and analyze to prevent overreacting."

"Is that like the Cabot version of divide and conquer?"

"Something like that. Keep trying, Liv," Alex encouraged.

"Okay, okay, I think it hit me dead center of my core and I tensed myself in response. That was probably my first mistake," Olivia glanced up at Alex to see the younger woman with such a look of pain on her face the detective stopped talking.

"Keep going, Olivia. Keep getting it out because I'm sure these stairs aren't going to feel good," Alex said calmly as she attempted to subtly wipe the tears away from her eyes.

"No, I'm fine," Olivia didn't want to add to the other woman's pain. "Are you okay, Alex?"

"What? Of course, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be," she snorted, "I mean, just because I can picture your body being slammed into by a huge, black battering ram and thrown backwards through the air before I watched your head bounce off the floor when you landed doesn't mean I can't handle listening to you talk about it, right?"

Olivia felt Alex shiver in her embrace.

"Hey, hey, I'm alright," Olivia spoke in a voice Alex recognized as the one she used to calm rape victims. She had never expected to hear it turned on herself.

"I know you are. I just keep seeing it. It was scary, Olivia. I didn't know if you were going to be dead or alive when I got over to you. I felt like I was moving through molasses trying to reach you."

Olivia tightened her grip on Alex's hip where her hand rested and rubbed softly with her thumb. She tried to take a deep breath but winced as the inhalation made her diaphragm move. _Oh, man. I'm not in good shape. I can't believe this._ "Listen, Alex, I promise to take it easy but you can't get me removed from this case. Please, promise me you'll keep this between us until we find Annabelle, okay?"

"I trust you, Olivia. I trust that you'll let me know if I can help you and that you won't hurt yourself for this case," Alex said carefully, not promising anything.

"Good enough. I trust you, too, just so you know."

"Great, we can be the mutual admiration society," Alex teased.

The two were silent as they worked their way down the long courthouse steps. When they finally reached the bottom, Olivia was sweating. "I'll go get the car, you wait right here," Alex told the woman who was clearly hurting. However, before Alex even had a chance to step away, she heard a horn beep and turned her head to found Munch behind the wheel. She smiled incredulously and reached into the pocket she thought was holding the car keys.

"Hey, it pays to have some other tricks up your sleeves when you work for New York's Finest," Munch told the smiling women. He and Huang climbed out of the car and waved down a cab. "Get out of here, already, if you're ever going to help us find Annabelle."

"Let's go, Liv. The guys valeted for us," Alex said, helping the woman she cared for into the passenger seat yet again.

"Mmm, you're spoiling me," Olivia teased.

Thankfully, the ride to the hospital was uneventful and Olivia used a little clout to leave the car parked quite illegally outside the emergency room. Being recognized by the staff got them into x-ray quickly and, before they realized it, they were left alone in a room to get Olivia into a hospital gown.

"I can't do it myself, Alex. I need your help," Olivia said quietly.

"I know. I'm sure it wasn't easy for you to say that to me, either. Here, let me unbuckle your harness," Alex answered as she reached toward the cop.

"Actually, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be." Olivia stood calmly waiting for the other woman's assistance.

Alex noted the slight tremor in Olivia's hands and asked if she wanted to sit.

"No, I don't think I'll be able to get back up if I sit right now. Listen, can you put my harness and my weapons in your briefcase and lock it? It makes me really uncomfortable to have them lying loose in here where anyone could touch them."

"Sure, where's your other weapon?"

"It's in my ankle holster and I know I can't bend down to get it out. Do you mind?"

"Of course, I don't mind. Which leg?" Alex made the mistake of looking at Olivia's face as she slowly knelt in front of the injured woman. They both swallowed loudly and just stared at one another for a moment.

"Uh, it's, uh, my left leg. Yeah, my left, left leg," Olivia stuttered. She swayed a little when she felt Alex's hands slowly sliding her jeans up her leg. She could feel Alex's fingers brush against her skin when she removed the smaller harness and weapon.

"Okay," the ADA exhaled, "I'll just lock these up while you wait here."

Olivia didn't move at all while she waited for Alex to finish putting the guns away.

"Alright, at least your shirt doesn't have to go over your head," Alex said hopefully. The blonde took a careful breath and reached for Olivia's shirt buttons. She watched Olivia's pulse pound in her neck as she unbuttoned the top two buttons. When she reached button number three, she couldn't help but brush her hands against Olivia's ample breasts and the electric current passing between them caused their eyes to meet and hold.

"Well, this wasn't how I pictured you undressing me," Olivia said quietly.

"This wasn't how I pictured it either," Alex said, just as quietly.

With that shared understanding, the women nodded minutely at one another and kept eye contact as Alex finished unbuttoning Olivia's shirt and stepped behind her to slip it off her arms. "Oh, Olivia," she cried, "I can't believe this! You must be hurting so badly!" Alex was shocked at the bruising on the bare back in front her. Her eyes, of course, were tearing up again and she said, "Olivia, we have to get your x-rays done now. Why didn't you say something?" She put her hands on the other woman's shoulders. "I'm sorry it took so long to come here." Alex was quite distraught.

"It's not your fault, Alex, I always push too hard. You know that."

"Do you think we should take your bra off, too?"

"Uh, we probably should. It has underwire in it that might, you know, affect the scans or something."

Alex rubbed her hands over the goose bumps forming on the soft skin in front of her. "Okay, here's the gown. You hold onto it and undo your jeans while I unhook your bra. Will that work?"

Alex was close enough that Olivia felt the other woman's breath on her back and just nodded her head in response.

The moment was too sensual to be ignored and the ADA stepped closer to the detective as she slid the white bra straps down each arm, one at a time. She set the bra on the exam table behind her and reached around Olivia for the hospital gown. Alex pulled it up Olivia's arms one at a time and just put a single knot in each of the two closures. Stepping back around the detective, she saw Olivia's closed eyes and smiled slightly. Kneeling, once again, in front of the older woman, Alex untied Olivia's sneakers and slipped them off before reaching up to the waistband of Olivia's jeans and gently, slowly tugging them over her hips and down her legs. She felt the other woman hold onto her shoulder for support as she lifted her legs one at a time to get the pants off. After she finished, she felt Olivia slide her hand from her shoulder up to her cheek and she automatically met the other woman's eyes. At a gentle nudge from the detective, Alex stood up, Olivia's hand stayed on her cheek as the detective said, "Thank you for being so gentle with me."

"I didn't want to hurt you; you must be in terrible pain," Alex whispered as she leaned in closer to Olivia.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: The chapters are breaking up strangely, I know, sorry. I'll try to post a huge chunk tonight so that it doesn't end at such an odd spot. Please review!

"I didn't want to hurt you; you must be in terrible pain," Alex whispered as she leaned in closer to Olivia.

At a loud knock on the door, Alex jumped back.

"Okay, Detective Benson, let's take a look at these injuries you have. Get up here on the table," the brash technician said loudly.

"Uh-"

"I'll help you, Olivia," Alex interrupted. She saw a step stool and slid it over behind Olivia's feet. "Just step up onto the stool one stair at a time." Alex stood in front of Olivia and held her hands to help her balance. "There you go, now just sit back nice and slow." After she had Olivia seated on the table, she kicked the step stool out of the way and lifted the other woman's legs onto the table. Putting her arm behind Olivia's shoulder she helped her friend lay back without using her abdominal muscles, which is much harder than one would think.

The x-ray technician just watched the exchange, smirking slightly. When the glacial blonde stayed standing right next to the hot-blooded brunette, not looking anywhere but right at the prone woman's face, he decided he'd better just start. "I'm sorry, Detective; I didn't realize the injuries were so bad. Can you tell me what happened so I know what to look for?"

"I'm not really sure; I think I got knocked out. Alexandra, can you tell him?"

"We were at a crime scene and Olivia pushed a door open. A freaking battering ram was rigged up and it swung out, hit her square in the sternum and knocked her through the air. Her head bounced on the floor. She was unconscious for under a minute. Her lower back has bruising on it already."

"How long ago did this happen?"

"It happened shortly after seven o'clock this morning."

"Okay, so less than four hours ago. Alright, let's get started. Your chart, Detective, has anything changed? Are you pregnant?"

"No, nothing's changed, I'm still not pregnant, Rory, you brat," Olivia laughed, "I really just need this done quickly."

"Okay, Ms. Cabot, will you step into the hall please so I can run her scans?"

"Oh, I thought I would stay right here with her," Alex said looking back and forth between Olivia and Rory.

"You can if you want to. I can give you a lead apron to protect you but it's just better not to expose yourself to the rays when you don't need to. All kinds of reasons. So, you want an apron?"

Olivia squeezed Alex's hand, "Alex, listen, I think you should call Elliot and get up to the minute information on Annabelle so that when we're done here we know exactly what to do."

"Um, sure, okay," Alex blushed.

"Hey," Olivia whispered, "I just don't want to expose you to all these crazy rays if it's not necessary. You're a young woman and you don't need them in your body unnecessarily. What if you want to have kids someday?"

"What if you do?"

"Me? A pregnant cop? You know me better than that, swee-uhh, Alex," Olivia's face flushed as she realized she was about to call Alex sweetheart. She could tell Alex realized it, too.

The blonde reached up and brushed some hair off of Olivia's forehead before surreptitiously checking to see that Rory was focused on getting the large machine set up to view Olivia. She leaned down to Olivia's ear and whispered, "I'll be right outside in the hallway. Tell him to get me if you need anything at all, okay?" and on her way back up she brushed her lips across the cheek next to hers.

Olivia looked rather dazed as the other woman left the room. _Is this real? Did she just kiss me? I know it was just my cheek and I think she's actually done that before, but not like that. She kissed me on purpose. Not just a "hey, nice to see you kiss" but a "hey, I'm worried about you kiss". Wow…_

"Alright, cop lady, you ready to get looked at?"

It took a few minutes to wheel Olivia into the right position after which Rory stepped behind a wall, asked her to hold her breath, and activated the machine. "I might need another view if things look bad on this, but give me about fifteen minutes to check it and give it to Doc Hansen, alright?"

When Olivia nodded, Rory opened the door to step out.

Alex spoke immediately when the door opened, "So, what's wrong? Is anything broken?"

Laughing, Rory repeated himself and shut the door as he left the room. Alex felt a little embarrassed that she hadn't realized it would take a little longer than five minutes to get results.

"What did he look at?"

"Oh, he took a shot of my chest and brought it out to diagnose. He told me that it's probably a fractured or separated rib and that the x-ray would show that and whether I have a pneumothorax or something."

"Oh, my God, is that a possibility?" Alex blanched and grabbed Olivia's hand.

"I don't know. I don't even know what it is."

"A pneumothorax is a collapsed lung; it could happen if your ribs are broken and puncture a lung. It's, well, it's really dangerous, Olivia. Did he really say that was a possibility?"

"He said he would see it in the x-ray if there was one, but, Alex, think about it. If I had a collapsed lung I'd know, sweetie. Relax a little. Pull that chair over here and sit down," Olivia instructed. Then she looked closer at Alex's pale, clammy face and spoke again, "I think, on second thought, you should just sit right here next to me."

"Next to you?"

"Yeah, hop on up, Counselor. There's room for both of us. I could use the warmth. It's freaking cold in here, isn't it?" The detective tugged a little on the blonde's hand and winked at her.

The wink was Alex's undoing.

"Oh, alright, but tell me why it is that you always seem to get your way with me?"

"I'm enchanting and you find my charm irresistible."

"There is always that," Alex said with an eye roll as she scooted herself back on the table so that her backside was carefully pressed against the right side of Olivia's sternum.

"Listen, we need to eat. What say when we bust outta this joint, we make a quick stop at Starbucks for coffee and scones before we go back to the station? Sound good? I'm starving," she ended in a singsong voice. _She needs a distraction from worrying about the case and worrying about me. Maybe a breakfast mission of mercy will do it for her._

"If I hold out will you beg for it?" Alex flirted back.

"I'd really like for you to find out," Olivia said in a deep voice as she reached her right arm around Alex to place her hand on top of Alex's.

"I think that can be arranged after this whole nightmare is over," Alex nodded and held Olivia's hand between her hands to try to warm it up.

"Which nightmare would that be? The one where we can't find the last little girl or the one where you have to spend so much time stuck with me?" Olivia tried to keep her voice light but Alex could hear the real question in there.

"Though the ADA in me is cringing about it, I wasn't talking about either of those two things. Yes, Annabelle Rissotto being missing for so long is a nightmare. No, spending so much time with you is certainly not a nightmare. I was referring to you lying on that exam table in so much pain you haven't even tried to get up since Rory left the room. It's scary, Liv, to see you injured like this; you're invincible, aren't you?" _Ugh, I can't believe I'm crying again! I must be exhausted._

"Thanks, Alexandra," Olivia whispered.

After a few moments of just holding hands, Alex spoke again, "why do you do that?"

"What do I do?"

"You call me Alexandra. No one else calls me that except my mother. But you do," Alex looked into her friend's eyes.

"I like your name. It's strong, like you are but it's beautiful, too, like you are. It's serious but still rolls nicely out of my mouth. It defines you in a way most names don't."

"You've thought about it?"

"I've thought about everything about you Alexandra Cabot."

Alex was slowly leaning in towards Olivia's face when the door swung open again admitting Rory with Olivia's results.

"Okay, girls," he said loudly, in an obvious attempt to ignore what he almost saw them almost do, "I think we all know you want to rush out of here so I expedited everything. It looks like you have some separated ribs, three of them, to be exact. That's good and bad. The good part is there's not much chance of a pneumothorax and with a rib band you can keep being a cop lady if you do it mildly. The bad part is that they hurt like a bitch, especially when you get up from lying down. Using your abdominal core is going to be seriously painful for about a month and a half. None of this is coming from a doctor and because of that, none of it is official. If you want an official diagnosis it's all going to be written down and the paperwork is going to go to your department. What do you want?"

"A rib band, a coffee and a scone, thanks," Olivia answered. "Alex, can you help me up so I can get dressed and go?"

"Could you give us 90 seconds, Rory and then come back in?" Alex asked.

"No problem, clock starts when the door shuts," he answered with a smirk.

"Alex, please don't take me off this case," Olivia pleaded.

"I'm not going to. When this case ends, when we find Annabelle and put this freak in jail, you're going to report your injury and take some disability time." When Olivia started to protest, Alex put her hand up and continued, "I'm going to use some of my many, many, many vacation days and we are going to figure out where we go from here. Good with you?"

"Good with me. So, after Rory's gone will you help me get my clothes on?" Olivia grinned.

"This may be the last time you ever ask me that," Alex said laughing again.

"Probably," Olivia answered.

They both looked over when Rory walked back in, "So, did you make up your mind, cop lady?"

"Yeah, just that rib band would be good, if you have one here I could use. And, so you know, I'll be back within a few days for an official diagnosis. You don't have to worry, I'll be careful," she assured him.

"Here's the rib belt. I brought it back in with me. I'm glad you'll be back; I hate it when you do the tough cop thing. And, Blondie, you should stick around. Nobody else has ever been so good at talking sense into this one," he teased.

"We're working on that, too," Alex said to Rory, though she looked right into Olivia's deep brown eyes.

"Okay, then I'll just hold on to your x-rays and put them in when you come back officially. See you in a few days, ladies," Rory offered on his way out.

"He's interesting," Alex told Olivia with a little grin. "Give me your hands and I'll help pull you up." When she had the detective sitting on the edge of the table she picked up her jeans and walked slowly to Olivia. "I'll put these on you and slide them up as far as I can while you're sitting, that way we can put your shoes on while you're sitting, too. Okay?"

Olivia could only nod in response when she saw Alex kneel between her legs. Olivia was thoroughly grateful that she took the extra few minutes to shave when she had showered in the middle of the night.

"By the way, Liv, I love the socks," Alex said in reference to the pastel pink ankle socks her friend was sporting.

"I'm a little behind on laundry," the older woman said in embarrassment.

"It's okay; I really do think they're cute." Alex gently caressed Olivia's leg from behind her knee down to the back of her ankle, she slowly lifted the leg she was holding and put it in the jeans. She did the same with Olivia's other leg, noticing the goose bumps left in the wake of her hand.

"Alex," Olivia whispered, eyes closed, hands gripping the edge of the table.

Alex smiled softly, pulled the jeans up past Olivia's knees and slid her hands up the outside of Olivia's thighs as she stood. "Let me get your shoes on you."

"Stop," Olivia grabbed Alex's hands, "Alex, please, stop. I can do it myself. I'm not a charity case." Olivia suddenly couldn't stand the thought of Alex being this close to her only to help. She wanted Alex to want to be there because she wanted to, not because she felt she had to.

"Olivia Benson," Alex had her lawyer voice on, "I have never looked at you as a charity case. How dare you say that to me! I've spent the past five hours with you; listened while you tried to protect me, then ripped me apart, then protected me again, then flirted with me and now you're telling me you're not a charity case? You're a piece of work, Benson. You really are." With that, Alex reached for Olivia's shoes and knelt in front of the other woman again.

"Ugh, Alex, that's not it. I just – I don't know – you're blowing my mind! Do you have any idea what it feels like to be sitting up here looking at you kneeling between my legs and to know that I can't do anything about it? You're gorgeous and you're straight and I'm totally falling for you and you keep touching my legs and I can't think clearly. Please, don't be mad at me. I'm sorry," Olivia begged.

"Okay, we need to settle some things. First, I was kneeling between your legs to tease you, I'm sorry if it was too forward but I thought we were kind of leading up to that. Second, I'm not straight. Third, I'm falling for you, too and I have been for a really long time. Last, I'm not mad at you. My mind's been a little blown today, too, Liv," Alex finished speaking and stood up. She put her hands out toward Olivia and helped the older woman stand up and step down the stool. Once Olivia was firmly on the floor, the blonde woman put her hands on the hips in front of her and looked into the other woman's eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. We're going to solve this case because, as Jeremy said, 'Olivia and Alexandra are the magic number' and then we're going to spend a few weeks working it all out. For now, I have a promise for you."

"What promise?"

"This one," Alex whispered as she leaned into Olivia's body. Olivia's hands touched her shoulders and slid down Alex's arms to hold her hands. Eyes open, they breathed together as their heads leaned in. Their fingers entwined, eyes closed, as their lips met. They were hesitant, testing the connection. Olivia knew she had never shared a kiss as meaningful as that one. Alex felt their kiss through her whole body. They didn't move once they touched, it was just one, sweet, simple connecting of lips. Olivia had always been fearful of addiction having watched her mother drink and she knew it was a justified fear after one of Alex's kisses, she knew she'd be addicted forever. Their mouths pulled apart and they leaned their foreheads together.

"I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"I knew you were the strong one. When they see us together, people always think I'm the strong one. On cases and when we're out together for drinks with the guys, everybody thinks I must protect you. They're so wrong. You're the strong one; you're the one with the courage to kiss first. Thank you. I needed it to come from you."

"I thought it would help me focus if I got that out of the way but now all I can think about is when I'm going to be able to do it again," Alex laughed as she stepped away from Olivia and picked up the other woman's bra.

Olivia blushed and slowly turned around to allow Alex to untie her hospital gown and wrap the bra around her torso. "This is too much. I'm going to catch fire."

"I won't burn you," Alex offered as she tenderly slid the thin cotton down Olivia's arms. "I'm afraid this is going to hurt if I hook it around your ribs like I would do my own. Can we put your arms through first and then I can hook it in the back?"

Olivia nodded and opened her right hand for the bra. She slipped it onto her right arm, then her left as she felt Alex watching from behind her. The blonde woman reached around to pull the bra up trying not to think about how Olivia was going to have to touch herself to settle her breasts into the cups. Hands shaking, Alex tried to settle it into place as best she could from behind the older woman before hooking it.

"Is that okay, Liv?"

"Yeah, thanks. Do you think you could help me with the rib belt now?"

"Sure, but do you know how it works?"

"Oh, yeah, I sure do. I've worn these a couple times. I'm just happy there's nothing broken."

Alex snorted at that and followed Olivia's directions as to how to wrap and fit the rib belt around her. Then Alex helped Olivia get her shirt and her holsters back on. The two looked at each other as they were ready to leave.

"Back to the case but don't you forget our deal," Olivia said to Alex.

"As if anyone could forget a first kiss like that, babe," Alex replied with a quick kiss to the side of Olivia's head.

_She called me babe! She, Alexandra Cabot, ADA, called me, a lowly cop, babe. My life is complete._

Alex tried to ignore the brilliant smile on the other woman's face but she couldn't help the grin that formed on her own.

The pair left the hospital and made their way to Starbuck's and then to the precinct.

"How is it even possible that eating a scone made me hungrier?" Alex asked.

"I know, me, too!" Olivia laughed as they put the other five coffees they purchased on her desk.

"One of those better be for me, kids," Cragen threatened kiddingly.

"But, of course, Captain," Alex answered.

"Alright, so how much closer are we to finding Annabelle?" Olivia got quickly back to business.

"Looks like Huang just figured it out. He has another apartment above a teen hangout called Club 17. We think that's where the last girl is. Cabot, warrant?" Elliot said brusquely.

Alex noticed Olivia tense up when Elliot finished. "Sure, I'll go get one right now, can I have the information? Benson can come with me and we'll meet you at the scene."

Everyone agreed and the women left. In the car, Olivia couldn't keep it in anymore, "I just can't understand why he has to talk to you like that. It pisses me off so much!"

Alex just smiled a small, satisfied smile.

"What?"

"I really like how you automatically jumped to my defense. It was really nice to feel that from you instead of you agreeing with him."

"Hey, I'm sorry; you should be used to having me in your corner. I should never talk to you like that and I won't ever do it again," Olivia promised, placing her hand on Alex's thigh and squeezing just a little.

"Yes you will," Alex laughed, "but you won't mean it and you'll apologize."

"Gee, I love how you have such faith in me," the detective said sarcastically.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Liv, I was just teasing you."

"Yeah, yeah. Listen, do you think Annabelle's going to be in this other apartment? What the hell do we do if she isn't?" Olivia changed the subject before Alex could tell how serious she was.

As they discussed whether or not she was going to be there, they parked and Alex hustled up the courthouse steps telling Olivia to take her time. In and out in just a few minutes, they were back on their way to 17th Street and the club his apartment was over.

"Listen, Alex, before we get there, I just want to tell you not to come near the apartment. We already know what's going to be in there and if Annabelle is there, too, I don't want you to have to live with that mental picture."

"I don't want to live with that mental picture, either, but I want to be up there with you. I want you to be able to look over and see me there supporting you. I care about you, Olivia, I know this case has been hard on you and it's really important that you let me be there for you right now."

"I don't know what to say. Thank you. Just make sure you stay clear of the door. Please, Alex, don't come near the door."

After eliciting the promise she desperately wanted to hear, Olivia breathed. Not thinking, she inhaled far too deeply and felt the twinge in her abdomen.

"What is it? Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

"I'm fine, I just inhaled too much air and it hurt a little. I'll be fine and I promise not to stand in front of the battering ram this time."

"Good, I don't need to see that more than once. I'll already be having those nightmares for a long time," Alex said softly as she brought Olivia's hand up to her mouth and kissed the palm. "If you open my purse, somewhere in there is a pill bottle that has all kinds of pain meds in it. I think I have Excedrin, Tylenol, Advil, Motrin, Midol and who knows what else. In my briefcase there's a bottle of water that I just opened this morning. If you don't mind my germs, we can share it," Alex finished. She watched Olivia going through her purse and thought how couple-like it was that the other woman felt comfortable enough to look through it.

"I think you know I don't mind your germs, Cabot," Olivia teased. She was concerned, though, when she saw the smile quickly melt off the other woman's face. "Hey, hey, what happened? I was just joking with you. What's up?"

"You don't tend to bring up very good memories when you call me by my last name. You're most likely to say it when you're not very happy with me," Alex confessed, her eyes watering just a bit.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to do that to you. I was just saying it now to tease you but I won't anymore. I'm really sorry, Alex. Please don't cry," Olivia begged. She forgot all about finding pain killers for herself. _Do I really use her last name as a punishment? I think I do. Man, I suck. She's never going to want to be with me._ "Alex, listen, I have some apologizing to do but I want to be face to face when I do it. I want you to be able to really look at me and see how I feel. Is that okay?"

"I'm not making you apologize to me for anything, Olivia. We can talk about it whenever you're ready to. In the meantime, we're here and we need to get up to that apartment. Before we go, though, you need to take some Motrin for those ribs."

Alex got the water for the other woman and watched her swallow a few pills before shutting off the car and getting out, warrant in hand.

They met the others at the building entrance.

"Is everything in order, Counselor?" Cragen asked.

"Yes, let's go in," Alex answered.

Once they were all standing outside the apartment, Elliot took the lead. He stood with his back to the wall next to the door and knocked. He received no answer, of course, and verbally announced their presence and requested entrance once more. He stepped in front of the door and was about to raise his foot to kick it in when Olivia stopped him.

"The door's rigged, El, don't hit it," she said loudly.

"What are you talking about?" He scoffed.

"Baldwin hooked the door up to a booby trap. If you kick it open, something's gonna hit you," she told him. "When we went to the other apartment, a battering ram swung out of the doorway when I pushed it open. I don't know if he's got that hooked up here or if it's something worse but don't stand in front of it if you're going to force it open."

"Okay, move," he said gruffly. He went back to the side of the door and reached for the knob again to see if it would turn. To his surprise, it did. "Everybody get clear of the door. I'm going to swing it open hard and when nothing happens we can go in."

Bristling at the subtle cut to Olivia, Alex narrowed her eyes at Elliot. Just as she opened her mouth to say something she caught the slight shake of Olivia's head telling her not to. The older woman appeared to still be focused on Stabler and the door, other than the slight smirk to her mouth. Alex acquiesced.

"3…2…1…" Elliot said quietly before pushing the door. They all heard the subtle click before seeing the same large, black battering ram come swinging out of the doorway. Olivia's eyes widened as she realized what it must have looked like to see that come out at someone else and then watch that person fly backward before falling. She looked then to Alex and saw the subtle tremor in the younger woman's hands and the definite paling of her skin. She had only a moment to make eye contact before heading in to the plastic coated apartment before her but that moment made a huge difference to Alex.

After finding nothing but paint cans and plastic, one of the uniforms questioned the scene. "I mean, it's just that we don't know that he even did anything wrong. Maybe he's just painting his apartments."

"Okay, but why would he put drop cloths up after he finished painting?" Olivia asked.

"Maybe he hasn't started yet?"

"Just call the M.E. and she can tell you what's in the paint cans, Sparky," Olivia answered "and you can stay here and wait for her."

Alex waited in the hallway for almost fifteen minutes before Olivia had looked in all the rooms. When she met Alex in the hallway, Olivia explained that she thought he killed one girl per room.

"What do you mean per room?"

"This is going to be upsetting but I think each paint bucket holds the blood of one child. There was one bucket in the main room and one in the office. None in the bedroom, kitchen or bathroom. When the guys checked the boat, they said he had just painted the lounge. So that's three girls. The other apartment had at least one, maybe two or three. We might have found scenes for four, five or six girls. That means we need to keep looking."

"He's sending us on a damn scavenger hunt? Liv, Annabelle's not going to survive this if we don't find her soon," Alex panicked.

"I know, let's go back and talk to Huang again."

"What day is it?"

"What?"

"Seriously, Olivia, what day is it?"

"Oh, my, God, Alex, it's the seventeenth. We're supposed to find her today. He just wants us to find all the other scenes today, too. Shit."

The women quickly went downstairs to talk to the captain and explain their theory. He agreed to let them go find George Huang and work on discovering the other scenes and, hopefully, recovering the last little girl.

The two of them spent the entire car ride back going over the ramblings they had gotten from Baldwin. Neither of them could figure out what he meant. When they finally arrived at the 16th Precinct, Huang was waiting with the paper in his hand and a knowing smirk on his face.

"I think he has a house," he said without preamble.

"Where?" The women asked in unison.

"Washington Heights."

"You mean an apartment there? It didn't come up in his background check earlier," Olivia said as she re-entered the search criteria to find Jeremy Sean Baldwin in the computer.

"No, I mean a house in Washington Heights in Orange County. It's right off of Route 17 and it's 17 letters long. I'm thinking either he grew up there and gained the fascination with the number or he bought a house there after searching for things that fit his criteria of the magic number. That's what I think this paper leads us to. Washington Heights."

"But how do you know which Washington Heights it is? Couldn't it be the uptown neighborhood?"

"It could be, Alex, but I'm pretty confident that he has a house all to himself. I don't think it's an apartment and I really don't think it's in The City. Look at this map. See the ones and sevens all lined up next to each other leading out to here? Then they take a sharp right turn. I'd bet, if we line this up with a map of New York State, it'll lead us right to his house."

"Yeah, but we don't know that she's there! What's the point of driving out to East-Bumble if we aren't going to save the girl? We have to save this girl. We have to." Olivia was adamant.

"I know that, Olivia, but even if she's not there you'll definitely find at least another place that he took them. If she's not there, maybe a clue will be."

"Fine, let's call the Washington Heights PD and tell them to go check out his house."

"Olivia Benson," Alex started, "I know damn well you want to find this girl so why do you sound so sure that she's not there when I think she really might be?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry George; I didn't mean to be a jerk. Seems like that's all I am lately. If you're really sure he has something there than please help us figure out where and whose name it's under because it's sure as hell not Jeremy Baldwin.

The three of them put their heads together over a map of New York. They couldn't get it to line up correctly until Alex took it to the photo copy machine and came back with five differently zoomed copies of his crude map.

"Brilliant," Olivia teased, gently nudging Alex's forearm with her own. The lawyer tried to hide the smile that Olivia's compliment caused.

Once they had chosen the map that fit best it seemed clear that the psychologist was correct; Baldwin must have a house in Orange County.

Not wanting to take another trip to the courthouse, Alex and Olivia looked at one another for a moment. Alex smirked suddenly and picked up the phone. After dialing and waiting for someone on the other end to answer, she said brightly, "Amber? Yes, I need a warrant for a house in Orange County. A man who was just arraigned and held on sixteen counts of child rape and murder drew us a map to his house in Washington Heights in Orange County… No, I don't have an exact address can you just go to Uncle Bill? Excellent… I'll wait for you at the precinct, thanks!"

"Ugh, thank God. I just need to sit still for a minute," Olivia ground out, clearly still in pain.

"Amber will be at least forty-five minutes, why don't you go lay down for a little while. I know you've been up all night," Alex suggested quietly when Huang walked away.

"So have you, Alex. You should get some sleep, too while you can," Olivia countered.

"You're right. Let's both go lay down."

"Hey, Huang, we're gonna go catch a little shut-eye while we can. When Amber gets here can you let us know? Can you tell the Cap where we are when he gets back?" Olivia smiled that crooked grin she knew people had a hard time resisting. It worked.

"Sure, I'll fill the guys in and we'll wake you when we're ready to go."

Opening the door to the crib, Olivia ushered Alex in first and locked the door behind them. Unexpectedly, her palms were damp with nervousness. She felt like a teenager whose parents were away for the weekend. "Um, which, uh, cot do you want?"

"Why don't you take this one against the wall? Let's have a quick look at your ribs before you lay down, okay?" Alex recommended.

"Okay, sure," Olivia's voice cracked as she answered. She swallowed slowly and met Alex's eyes as her hands began unbuttoning her shirt. "Can you unhook my holster again?"

"Of course," Alex smiled softly at the nervous woman. "Relax, Olivia, before you strain something."

Laughing quietly, Olivia held Alex's eyes with her own. "Sorry, it's just that I always seem to be stripping around you and it's a little off-putting. This isn't usually a one way thing, you know?"

Effectively having lightened the mood, Olivia's eyes closed reflexively when she felt Alex's hands undoing the stretchy rib belt around her middle. Gasping at the bruises she saw, the attorney's eyes immediately filled with tears. _God, what's wrong with me? I'm never such a wimp but every time I think of her being hurt it breaks me._

"It's okay, Alex, it doesn't really hurt too much. Even if it's bruised now, it doesn't feel any worse than it did this morning. Just reattach it and we'll catch a little nap." Olivia was doing that victim-voice again to try to keep Alex from crying.

"I'm sure it looks worse than it is but just seeing it makes me think of how you looked flying through the air this morning." Alex's shaking hands closed the rib belt securely around Olivia. "Do you even know what I thought happened?"

Mesmerized by the haunted look in the blue eyes before her, Olivia whispered, "What?"

"I thought you'd been shot. I know that I saw the battering ram but it didn't connect in my brain right away that you'd been hit with something. I've always feared you being shot and, in my panicked brain, that's what happened."

"I wasn't shot, Alexandra. I'm fine. I'm right here and I'm okay."

"Yes, you're right here but you're not okay, Liv, you're hurt." Alex looked at Olivia then, into Olivia. Her hands still on the rib belt that circled the cop, Olivia could feel the tremors in the taller woman.

Slowly, Olivia stepped back until her legs hit the bed behind her. Olivia held Alex's hands in her own and sat down, guiding Alex to sit next to her. Never losing the eye contact she knew held Alex entranced, Olivia laid back on the bed and pulled Alex to lay down next to her. The faced one another, in a world of their own. Olivia's shirt was still unbuttoned and Alex's left hand slid over her exposed abdomen to rest against the small of her back. A sigh of contentment escaped the older woman who pulled the blonde closer to her and tucked the other woman's head under her chin.

"I know we have a lot of talking to do, Alex, but can we just rest together right now? I need this. I need to be connected to you or I'm going to get lost in this case. Please."

"Yes, Olivia. I need this, too. I need to know you're okay. I need to feel you here. We can talk later, after the case. Let's just be together. Let's just be."

Their legs tangled together in that natural way that lovers have. Neither of them wanted to move long enough to pull a blanket over their bodies so they closed their eyes. Quickly relaxing into sleep, the women stayed wrapped around one another until a knock awoke them an hour later. Taking a moment to calmly untangle instead of jumping apart, Alex pointed silently to Olivia's sternum causing the older woman to look down at her unbuttoned shirt. Alex stood, ran a hand through her hair and answered the knock angling her body to block Olivia's exposed body.

"The warrant's here and the rest of the guys are on their way back, Alex. We should be ready to go in a few minutes. Cragen wants the whole team, including you and me to go out to Washington Heights. I think he's afraid of what we'll find there and he wants to be prepared for every possibility. Also, he wants you to make sure the guys do it all by the book."

If Alex didn't know better she'd think Huang was nervous. "What's up, George? Why are you babbling?"

"I'm not babbling!"

Alex gave him a pointed look.

"Okay, I'm babbling a little. I just wanted to make sure you two were up and ready when they all got here. I didn't want anyone else to know you came up here to sleep together. Wait, I didn't mean sleep together like sleeping together, I just meant together at the same time. Oh, Jesus, never mind. I sound like an imbecile. I'm sorry, Alex. I was assuming things I shouldn't be assuming and I just thought they would, too."

Seeing an arm come around Alex as Olivia stepped into view surprised the good doctor. "You might be assuming correctly but no one else needs to know about it right now. We appreciate the thoughtful gesture," Olivia said in a gravelly voice, "Now, if you'll excuse us, I need the toothbrush from my locker and I'm sure Alex would like to brush her teeth, too, before everyone arrives."

Situation diffused, the women freshened themselves up and were waiting in the bullpen with George as the others walked in. The captain outlined the plan for everyone with some help from Dr. Huang. "So, let's go guys."

"I'll drive," Elliot said.

"Me, too," Alex added.

That left Olivia choosing which car to get into. Her partner or the woman she wanted to be her partner? Why did they have to do this to her?

Huang, seeing the hesitancy pass through Olivia's eyes, spoke quickly, "Olivia, you and I should go with Alex and keep trying to decipher the information I have from Baldwin. It seems like the three of us have been able to do some good work on that, Captain. Is that okay with you?" He looked toward Don.

"Yeah, sure. Munch, Fin, you guys are with me and Stabler."

The gang trooped out to the cars to begin their journey to upstate New York. Anxious and stressed, Olivia started toward the driver's side before Alex quickly fell in next to her and asked, "Are you sure you can drive all the way there, Liv?"

"Damn, no, I can't. Do you mind driving my car? It has the light so we can cut through traffic," Olivia offered.

"That's fine; I don't mind driving your car. Do you think it would be okay if we swung through somewhere for food on the way? That scone and then the nap made me so much hungrier," Alex laughed a bit.

"Yeah, I'll just text Munch and let him know."

"Don't bother, ladies, Munch ordered sandwiches for everyone and just ran across the street to pick them up before we leave," Huang told the women.

"When did he manage that?" Olivia was surprised.

Munch handed Huang a bag with three sandwiches and three bottles of water in it before George climbed into the backseat. Quickly handing out the sandwiches, Huang said he was fairly sure that Annabelle would be there.

"Why?" Alex and Olivia asked together.

"The detail of this map really makes me feel like this house is his main focus. I think he would bring the important girls here. The first, the seventeenth, probably the third and the seventh because of the religious significance of those numbers would have been brought to this house. I don't think he would bring those girls to an apartment in the city."

"I can't keep from thinking about what we're going to find out at this house. What if it's worse than the apartments?"

"Alex, nothing can be worse. It'll be exactly the same and you won't have to see any of it. Don't think about it; don't think about what we're going to do, just think about the road."

"Think happy thoughts, Olivia? Who are you, Tinkerbell?" Alex laughed.

"Yeah, I'm your own personal pixie," the detective teased back, trying to keep the blonde smiling.

Conversation was sporadic as the trio gulped down their sandwiches and water. Filling up quickly, Alex really wanted to wash her hands.

Catching the look on the attorney's face, Olivia opened the glove compartment, "Here," she offered Alex a wet wipe.

"Should I even ask why you have Huggies Wipes in your glove box?"

"They're softer and they smell better than grown-up hand wipes don't they?" Olivia defended, trying to hide a yawn.

Chuckling, Alex agreed. The women heard a ringing from the backseat and George spoke to them, "Sorry, it's a personal call. You don't mind, do you?" They shook their heads, encouraging him to take the call.

George turned toward the rear passenger window with the phone held to his left ear and spoke quietly into his cell.

Olivia yawned again. "Hey, Liv, why don't you try to sleep for a bit?"

"No, I'm fine, Alex. I don't need to sleep. That nap at the precinct was perfect," Olivia said quietly, smiling shyly at the other woman.

"I don't mind at all. If we're going to keep busting down doors today, you should get as much rest as you can even if we did have the perfect nap at the precinct," Alex smiled back, glancing surreptitiously at the other woman. Alex peeked at Dr. Huang in the rear view mirror to make certain that he was still on the phone before she slowly raised the arm rest between the front seats so that it was blocking the console from George's view. Keeping her arm low to conceal her movements, Alex placed her hand, palm up, between her seat and Olivia's. Understanding what Alex wanted, Olivia gently placed her hand in the one offered to her. Their fingers entwined together so naturally, part of Olivia felt as though they'd always been connected that way. Tenderly rubbing the pad of her thumb over the back of Olivia's hand, Alex again suggested that Olivia rest for awhile.

"I'll just lean my head back, but I won't fall asleep. Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay," Alex nodded.

Less than five minutes later, George ended his phone call and turned back toward the front seat. He heard Alex's quiet, "Shh" and realized Olivia had fallen asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: We're coming down the home stretch here, folks. Only one more chapter to go! As always, I'd appreciate a review or two… Enjoy…

Less than five minutes later, George ended his phone call and turned back toward the front seat. He heard Alex's quiet, "Shh" and realized Olivia had fallen asleep.

"Is she okay, Alex?" He asked.

"She will be. As soon as we close this case, she's going to the hospital and taking some disability time. She took a battering ram straight to the sternum."

"Oh, my God. How is she still walking around?"

"Not easily. She's really hurting and the stress of this case isn't helping. We have to find Annabelle; for her sake and for Olivia's. Seriously, George, what do you think we'll find in the house?"

"More of what was found at the apartments and the boat. I'm pretty sure he's kept each girl in a different room. He wouldn't want a new one to contaminate the previous girl's area. He'd want to be able to re-live each separate incident without another girl tainting the purity of his recollection. That's why I think the last girl is out at the house."

"You think the house was his main site. You think we'll find most, if not all, of the other scenes there."

"Yes, I do. I'm guessing that the house we're driving out to is set away from the neighbors and is probably an older manor. You find them all over the upstate New York area. They have servant passages and plenty of rooms he could have used for the girls and still had enough room to live. He's a Baldwin of the old money Baldwin's."

"You mean the Fortune 500 Baldwins?"

"Yes, those Baldwins. He's the last of them since that boating accident killed his two brothers and their families and his sister was disowned years ago."

"Why didn't I realize that? How the hell did he end up with that crap lawyer then?"

"I have a feeling he picked the lawyer like he picked the 16th Precinct. Gregor Scantaliola is 17 letters long."

"So, why not the 17th Precinct?"

"He wanted you and Olivia. He wanted to make sure he could control who investigated him. He needed to be able to keep things inside his number theorem but he doesn't even realize that. In his world, God told him what to do and where to drop the kids off. His brain figures out numbers without him even realizing it. If he looks at your name written down, he automatically counts letters and adds digits to try to make it fit his fascination with 17."

"What if he can't make it fit?"

"Then you don't exist or you're a demon. Did you see the way he looked at Elliot?"

"Yeah, he tried to keep his face turned away from Elliot the whole time we were at the precinct. What was that about?"

"In his mind, he can't fit Elliot into his obsession and he can't ignore him so Elliot must be a demon."

"And Munch? He spoke to Munch," Alex continued.

"He must've fit Munch into the obsession somehow. I think he fit most of us into his obsession because he talked to all of us except Elliot."

"Is it possible he intentionally didn't fit Elliot in? Is it possible to selectively feed his obsession?"

"I don't know. I guess anything is possible," George said with a shrug.

"But you don't think so."

"No, I think he would do everything in his power to fit everyone he could into his obsession. The more people he can fit into his disease, the more real it is."

"I'm not very comfortable with you using words like disease, just so you know."

"I'm sorry, but I think he does have a disease. I don't think it makes him not guilty but he does have a disease. I'm on your side, Ms. Cabot. I'll testify for you that he knows right from wrong but he does have a mental disorder."

"Do you think he could be found not guilty by reason of mental defect or disorder? He needs to be in jail."

The doctor was quiet for a few moments while he formulated an answer.

"I think, with exactly the right jury for him and with exactly the right lawyer, there's a chance he could be found not guilty. However, I doubt he'll get the perfect defensive jury and I don't think his lawyer is nearly as good as you are."

"Thanks," Alex blushed.

After a few more quiet minutes, George leaned forward and spoke again, "So, why are you driving with one hand ADA Cabot?"

"I, uh, well, oh, shut up," she stammered.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. After seeing you two looking thoroughly disheveled earlier after your nap and then getting you in the same car for the long drive I thought maybe you'd let me in on the secret," he teased.

"There's no secret yet. We're friends. We're best friends. We're something more than that, too, though right now we haven't defined what."

"Good for you," George smiled and patted Alex's shoulder.

"Thanks, I think it will be."

They continued the drive in silence for another half hour before Olivia's cell phone buzzed in her jacket pocket. Alex slid her hand out of the sleeping woman's grasp and reached into Olivia's pocket to get her phone. "Here, George, answer this, will you?"

George answered and spoke quietly so as not to wake Olivia. When he hung up, he caught Alex's questioning gaze in the rearview mirror. "It was Elliot. He thinks we're going the wrong way."

"We've just gotten on 17, how could we be going the wrong way? This cop versus lawyer thing is getting pretty old. I don't even know why he hates me so damn much!" Alex quietly exploded.

"We're not going the wrong way, don't worry. He doesn't hate you, either," George said matter-of-factly.

"How do you know that? He acts like he hates me."

"He's jealous of you. He's jealous that Olivia wants to spend time with you. She only goes out for drinks with the guys when you say you'll go, too and he resents that."

"How absurd! He's married and Olivia is an adult who is absolutely free to make her own decisions on whether or not she wants to go out. I've never asked her not to go out or put any kind of limitations on what she does. Why is he blaming me?"

"He's not doing it on purpose, Alex, he's just jealous and jealousy is irrational. You know that. You have your moments," George smirked at her.

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about," she said haughtily, knowing he would know she was kidding.

"Yeah, sure, you don't turn green every time Elliot calls her Liv or tells her what to do and she listens."

"Which is rare."

"True."

The unlikely duo laughed softly and again fell silent. A short time later, Olivia's phone buzzed again and George answered.

"Elliot's car needs gas so they're pulling into the next gas station they pass which is coming up in a moment. I said we'd meet them at the house. Is that okay with you?"

"Absolutely. This way Olivia can wake up a minute before they get there," Alex said.

"Are you sure you two aren't together yet?" George laughed again.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just that you fell really quickly into the thinking about her first thing that couples do," George explained with a smile.

"I think part of me has always put her first and I know part of her has always put me first. Like today, at that Church, Olivia wouldn't let me anywhere near it until she knew it was totally clear. She kept me across the street from the car, too. She can be so protective of me," Alex said wonderingly.

George didn't answer. He knew Alex was partly talking to herself. She needed to come up with her own answers about the relationship she was slowly falling into.

Falling silent yet again, the trio finished the trip to Washington Heights.

"Alex, I think we should pull over here. If Jeremy has a partner at the house, we don't want to alert him that we're coming."

"Okay, there's a convenience store just ahead, I'll pull in there and you call Cragen and let him know where we are."

As soon as she parked the car, George stepped out to make the phone call and to allow Alex a bit of privacy in which to awaken Olivia. Alex reached across the seat and gently ran her fingertips down Olivia's cheek, brushing her hair off her face.

"Hey, Liv," she said quietly, "it's time to get up. We're going to be there soon." Alex continued to tenderly touch the other woman's face as her sleepy eyes opened.

"Alex?"

"Yes."

"I'm dreaming," Liv said sadly.

"No, sweetie, you're not. I'm real and I'm right here but we have to go save Annabelle," Alex was choked up.

Olivia sat up slowly, keeping her eyes locked with the ice blue pair staring at her. She slowed even more, giving Alex time to stop her if she wanted to before meeting her lips in a nearly chaste kiss. "I just needed one for the road," Olivia said in a gravelly voice.

"Mmm, me too." Alex's eyes were closed. She blinked them open slowly and looked into Olivia's eyes before speaking, "I just wanted to give you a chance to wake up. Elliot's going to be here in a few minutes and then we'll all go over to the house to look for Annabelle."

"Okay," Olivia breathed deeply before leaning back towards Alex, "one more."

Their lips met gently again and again. Alex knew she was going to combust when she felt Olivia's tongue lick along her bottom lip. Opening her mouth to the dark haired woman, Alex strained against her seatbelt and wrapped her arms as well as she could around the detective. They seemed unable to stop and only remembered George was there when they heard the back door open quickly. "Um, hey, they're about to pull in to the parking lot so you might want to unlock your lips, ladies." He laughed at the instant redness gracing Alex's porcelain features.

"Uh, thanks, Huang. I, uh, hope you know this is all on the d l?" Olivia questioned as she tried to calm her breathing down. She looked everywhere but at Alex, knowing if she did, she'd have to kiss her again.

"No problem, Olivia, I got it. I have my secrets, too," George said slyly.

The three of them smirked at each other, though Alex did still look a bit tongue-tied.

"Here they are," Olivia said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Wait, Liv, we don't have to get out, we need to get to the house," Alex said.

Elliot pulled in next to the passenger side and put his window down. Olivia did the same.

"Do you know where you're going, Cabot? We need to get there quick," Elliot said loudly.

"Yes, we're ready and I have the warrant. Will you follow me? We're probably less than five minutes away," Alex responded pleasantly, glancing at the other woman's clenched fists with satisfaction.

"Yeah, go ahead," the brash man ordered.

They pulled out swiftly, the attorney's stomach turning in anticipation of the horrors she expected to find at the house. She was waiting for the moment she knew would be coming when Olivia would tell her to wait in the car.

"Alex, listen," Olivia started quietly, "I want you to wait in the car. We don't know what we're going to find in that house and I don't want you to get hurt or to see something you might not be prepared for."

"Olivia, thank you for your concern but I'm going inside with you. I'm pretty sure this house is going to be huge and you'll need all of us. The Washington Heights police are no doubt going to want to back you up but they don't have the kind of experience we do with this sort of operation. The five of you are going to need to split up as much as possible and I want to stay near you."

Laughing sardonically, Olivia questioned, "How long have you been practicing that speech, Cabot?"

"How long were you asleep, Benson?"

"Ha, ha, very funny. I'd really feel better about it if you would wait in the car."

"I feel the same way, especially after that kiss, but I'm not letting you out of my sight. I think I can handle anything after watching you get hit with a freaking battering ram this morning. Have a little faith in me, Liv." Alex knew that was a low blow but she was willing to play any card she had to be able to stay by Olivia's side in what she was coming to think of as the house of horrors. "Besides, I'm sure what we're going to find can't be any worse than the terrible things I've been imagining this whole way."

"Don't count on it, Alex," George chimed in. "If his set-ups in the city were that elaborate, I'd bet what he has out here are even more so. If he's had this house to himself, there's no telling what he's been capable of rigging up to torture these kids."

"And if he hasn't had the house to himself?"

"Well, if he's had a partner in crime, it could be even worse. If he's sharing the house with his long-estranged sister, though, I have no idea what we'll find."

"Okay, so it's a crap shoot," Alex said quietly looking around at the woods lining the rural road.

"Alex, slow down, I think the turn is coming up on the left hand side."

"Yeah, I see something up there. A mailbox. Olivia, should I turn in?"

"No, pull off slightly to the right and put your window down."

Elliot, understanding, pulled up next to Alex and Cragen put the passenger window down.

"What's going on?" The captain asked.

"That's the turn," Alex pointed.

"Okay, we'll go first, stay about fifteen yards back in case we get stuck or something. We'll try to pull towards the left side of the house, you pull towards the right. The Washington Heights PD should be surrounding the property by now; I just called them back to check. They're going to maintain perimeter so no one gets away. We're clear to go in on our own. Anything the warrant doesn't cover?"

"No, Captain, we're good to go."

"You and Huang staying in the car?"

"No, we're coming in with you. I have the warrant and Huang has FBI training. Let's go," Alex finished.

"Go ahead, Stabler," Cragen said as he looked away from Alex.

The two cars pulled into the narrow, packed-dirt road leading to, as the decrepit sign said, The Baldwin Estate. Olivia was wide awake and feeling every bump they hit throughout her midsection.

"Liv, I think it's time for some more Motrin, before we go inside and you try to play hero," Alex suggested.

"Okay," Olivia agreed and fished through Alex's purse again for the medicine.

Alex knew that meant Olivia was hurting and it made her hurt, too. She was worried about Olivia going into the manor, worried that she was not well enough to search the rooms the way she needed to. She also knew there would be no stopping Olivia, just as there would be no stopping herself. They were too deeply invested in the saving of Annabelle Rissotto to stand back and watch. As expected, Elliot parked near the front left corner of the house, leaving Alex to park near the front right. As they quietly climbed out of the cars, Munch, Fin and Cragen made eye contact with Elliot and Olivia and proceeded to the back of the house. A cursory scan of the exterior showed only one entrance in the front and one in the back. As dictated by the law, Elliot knocked on the front door, announced their identities and waited a few seconds before trying the door knob himself. It turned in his hand.

Now knowing that the door was probably rigged, the four of them stepped to the sides of the door before Elliot swung it open. Nothing swung out at them and they paused for an extra moment before Elliot took the lead position and went inside. Olivia followed in her cop stance. Alex and George brought up the rear of the front search group and heard the others saying clear all over the ground floor of the house. The seven of them met back in the center of the house to regroup.

"Ground floor's clear. Benson, Stabler upstairs. Munch, Fin, downstairs. Search one floor and check in. If we haven't found anything, we'll keep going. Huang, why isn't there any sign of torture here?"

"He probably secluded it to certain areas of the house to keep the rest of it clean. He would not have wanted to mix the girls in with his daily life."

"Okay, so we'll find evidence somewhere. Keep looking," Cragen ordered.

Elliot headed upstairs followed by Huang.

"Captain, I think we're missing something," Olivia said quietly.

"What could we be missing, Benson? We know there's a 17th girl somewhere and we're looking for her."

"I think we're missing something. I think we're not seeing something. I just feel it. Gimme a sec." Olivia stepped back outside onto the front porch and looked carefully from the left side of the house to the right. Then she stepped back in and walked into the sitting room on her left and faced the front of the house. Talking to herself she walked across the front hall into the room on the other side. "There's a missing window."

"There's a missing what?" Alex asked.

"A missing window. If you stand outside, there are six windows along the front of the house, three on either side of the front door. Inside, though, there are only five. There's a missing window right here," Olivia said as she moved toward a closet to the side of the front door. It was an unusual set up for a coat closet as the closet door was parallel to the front door instead of perpendicular and the closet itself seemed large from the outside. When Olivia opened the closet door, though, it appeared to be a typical coat closet.

"Empty it," Alex ordered. Olivia listened. They started pulling out everything hanging in the closet and when they were done Olivia pulled out a flashlight. The women inspected the back of the closet seeing nothing out of place. "There's got to be something here somewhere, Liv, keep looking."

Olivia slid her hand around the inside of the door frame and felt something out of place. "What's this? She stepped into the closet and pointed the flashlight at the spot she had felt. "It looks like a key was fitted into the frame here. What do we do with it?" Looking bewildered, Olivia pulled the ring at the end of the key and they heard a definite click. Turning back to the closet, they could both see that the left wall had recessed a bit. Pushing gently, it slid further out of the way and the women were able to step, one at a time, around the back wall of the closet and into a little room covered in plastic.

"Shit," Alex said, "I can't believe this. We're going to have to search for every crime scene in the house."

"This is like a living nightmare version of Clue," Olivia said, "Alex, let's get out of here and mark it for CSU to detail. Come on, we have to keep looking."

"Right, keep looking, right. Annabelle. Keep looking," Alex repeated, trying to calm down.

"Captain," Olivia called, "we found the missing window. This search just got a whole hell of a lot more difficult."

"What do you mean?"

"We think there are hidden rooms all over the house. There's plastic and a paint can in the room behind the closet. I bet there are rooms like that everywhere."

"Oh, God. Okay, you two go over this floor again, I'll put a mark here for CSU."

The women walked away to continue inspecting. They found another room like that on the other side of the ground floor and a hidden staircase up to the next floor. They told Cragen who said to follow it. Unfortunately, they didn't show him where it was first.

"Olivia," Alex whispered halfway up the hidden staircase, "I think I heard something."

"Alex, there are five other people in this house, of course, you heard something."

"No, I mean, I think I heard something behind me."

"It's just Cragen, Alex, relax."

"Olivia," Alex whispered again.

"What?" Olivia said sharply.

"Nothing, I'm sorry, keep going," Alex apologized, looking down at the stairs below her feet.

Sighing, Olivia stepped back down closer to the frightened woman. Reaching out, she put the flashlight in Alex's left hand and grasped Alex's right hand in her left. "Better?" Olivia asked.

Alex nodded, still looking down.

"Hey, Alex, I'm sorry. It'll be okay; we'll stay together, come on," Olivia reassured the younger woman.

"Okay, thanks," Alex said, feeling foolish. _Olivia's right, it's just Cragen. Or the house. An old house like this must make a ton of noise on its own and we aren't helping by sneaking around old passageways._

They reached the top of the staircase and had to choose between three doors, one in front of them, one on the right and one on the left.

"Why do you think there are all these secret places in this house? Who could ever tell their way around this place?" Olivia asked, trying to settle Alex's obvious nerves.

"Originally, the hidden passages were for slaves. They could navigate through the house without being seen or disturbing the house owners. Then, when slavery was abolished, a lot of these same houses were used for the Underground Railroad. They used the same passages to hide slaves for protection instead of cruelty."

"I heard that different Mafia organizations bought these houses and used them to evade the FBI when they came busting down doors," Olivia said excitedly.

"I've heard that, too, but I don't know how much of it I believe. A lot of the old families wouldn't sell these houses. They were too proud of the rich history of their families."

Knowing Alex was more relaxed, Olivia smiled slightly at her and reached to the door on the left. With the two of them standing on the top step, they could swing the door open without being in the way of the possible battering ram. Alex nodded and Olivia opened the door slowly; another plastic coated room but no Annabelle and no battering ram. They stepped into the edge of that room and repeated the process with the door in the middle.

They heard no telltale rustling of plastic at the doorway, which made them anxious. They heard a low keening and looked at one another; could they have found her? With no light in the room in front of them they couldn't tell. Olivia silently reached for the flashlight from Alex's hand; the blonde handed it over willingly praying they had found the missing child. Sweeping the light across the floor of the room in front of them, it lighted on small feet roped together and caked with dirt. Slowly bringing the light up, they saw that the little girl was not standing of her own volition, her wrists were bound together above her head and the rope was looped on a hook above her head. She didn't look conscious. Olivia feared they were too late and stepped forward toward the child.

"Annabelle?" She said quietly. "Annabelle, sweetie, is that you?"

The little girls eyes opened quickly and she gasped through the dirty yellow cloth in her mouth. She tried to back away from Olivia but she couldn't go anywhere. Olivia stopped and knelt where she was, still six feet from the frightened girl.

"Annabelle?" When the girl nodded, Olivia continued, "I'm Olivia and I'm a police officer from New York City. I'm here to help you. Can I take that out of your mouth?" Annabelle shook her head quickly, still trying to back away. "If I show you my badge, can I take that out of your mouth?" Annabelle nodded carefully.

Olivia slowly reached into her back pocket and pulled out the wallet containing her badge. She held it toward Annabelle without moving closer to her. "Do you believe me now, Annabelle?" The child nodded and started to cry. "Can I help you now?" Nodding again, Annabelle tried to move closer to Olivia.

Olivia cautiously untied the gag and slid it out of Annabelle's mouth. "Please help me, please help me, please help me. I want to go home." The little girl just kept repeating herself.

"We're going to help you, Annabelle. We're going to bring you home to your parents, okay? I just need you to listen to me, first." Olivia moved back in front of the child, kneeling down. "I'm going to untie your feet first so you can try to stand up and then I'm going to untie your arms. When your arms come down, they're going to feel funny and then you're going to have pins and needles in your arms from the way they've been stuck. Can you handle that?"

Annabelle just nodded and watched Olivia untie the rope that was holding her feet together. She flexed her ankles and tested her feet. Then Olivia stood in front of her to untie her hands. "Annabelle, this is my friend Alex. We came here together to find you. Alex, do you have a tank top under your polo?"

"Yes," Alex answered.

"Good, can Annabelle borrow one of them? I think she might want to put some clothes on before we go downstairs."

The little girl nodded. Moments later she cried out as her arms were released from the hook above her head for the first time in days. Olivia felt Alex's polo shirt hit her in the head from behind her and realized it would be better if she gave Annabelle her button-up and put Alex's shirt on herself.

The attorney watched guiltily as Olivia removed her shirt and admitted in some part of her brain that even though they were experiencing a very intense situation, it was sexy that Olivia would be wearing her clothing. Alex was so entranced by the intensity of Olivia and the child in front of her that she never heard the noise on the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This is the final chapter. It's a little abrupt but I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for sticking it out. Let me know what you think, please!

The attorney watched guiltily as Olivia removed her shirt and admitted in some part of her brain that even though they were experiencing a very intense situation, it was sexy that Olivia would be wearing her clothing. Alex was so entranced by the intensity of Olivia and the child in front of her that she never heard the noise on the stairs.

By the time she realized there was someone behind her, it was too late and all she could do was gasp when a hand grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head back. She felt a knife at her throat.

"What's up, Alex? Annabelle's almost, shit!" Olivia glanced over her shoulder and stepped quickly in front of the little girl. Her gun automatically pointed at the head of the assailant. "Let her go."

"Leave my little girl alone."

"Annabelle is not your little girl and Alex is not your hostage. Let her go."

"No. I want that girl tied back up now!"

Olivia tried to think about hostage training and what she was supposed to do but the only thing in her head was that Alex was in danger.

"Alex, I'm sorry," Olivia said. No one understood her meaning. The other three people in that tiny, hidden room thought Olivia was sorry because she was going to abandon Alex but she was sorry for not believing her in the first place.

"No, it's okay, Olivia. Take Annabelle and go. She needs you now."

"No, Alex, I'm not leaving you here," Olivia reached one hand behind her and held the shaking child against her body as she slowly moved in an arc toward the door.

The assailant dragged Alex away.

"Who are you?" Olivia asked. "We caught Jeremy and he said he was working alone."

"It's the demon," Annabelle cried, "the one who hurts."

"The demon?" Olivia questioned, meeting Alex's eyes for a moment before looking back at her captor.

"Yes, Jeremy said that a demon was here and that the demon made him steal me. He said that the demon was going to hurt me but that he would try to make me better," Annabelle was sobbing, "I don't want to see the demon, Olivia, please help me."

"Okay, Annabelle, don't worry, I'm right here. Alex and I are not going to let the demon get you."

"Oh," the demon spoke, "I don't think Alex here is in any position to stop me."

"You're a woman," Olivia was surprised.

"Yes, I am. Congratulations, Detective, what gave it away?"

"Your voice finally did. When you stopped rasping, I realized it. Who are you?"

"You still don't know? Not even a guess? How disappointing." Alex cried out softly then. The woman had cut her just enough to sting. "That was punishment for not knowing who I am."

"I know," Alex whispered. "I know who you are. You're the Baldwin who was disowned. You're the one who was kicked out of the family."

"You are a smart one, aren't you," the Baldwin woman said sarcastically. "All it took was having a knife to your throat."

"Why are you doing this? Why set your handicapped brother up to take the fall for you? Why convince him you're a demon?" Olivia questioned, still moving Annabelle slowly toward the top of the stairs.

"I don't want the Baldwin's remembered for their charity. I want them remembered for the sick and twisted murders of the youngest son. I want them remembered for the black sheep who came back to save a family in trouble. I want to be remembered. Not them."

"But now we know it wasn't Jeremy, it was you. What are you going to do? There are five more cops downstairs and the whole house is surrounded. You're stuck here with us."

"You are a fool! I grew up in this house. I know every passageway in and out of here and every secret way off the property. I'll kill all three of you and escape before anyone even knows you've been caught."

At that, Annabelle started crying again.

"Shut that kid up, Detective, right now!"

"Let Alex go and Annabelle will stop crying," Olivia bargained.

"I'm not letting her go. Her only escape is death. She knows that."

"Olivia, go." Alex ordered.

"Not happening, Alexandra. I am not leaving you here."

"Yes, you are, Olivia. This is how it works. You take Annabelle out of here and leave me with Ms. Baldwin."

"Alexandra Cabot, I am not leaving you here. Do you understand me? I just got you; I'm not giving you up without a fight."

"We came here to save Annabelle. Do your damn job and save that girl!"

"Please help me, Olivia," Annabelle cried again.

"I will Annabelle, but I don't want to leave Alex here with that crazy lady, either," Olivia was stuck.

"Olivia Benson, look at me." Alex waited until Olivia made eye contact with her. "You have to take that girl out of here. I know you love me and you don't want to leave me here and that's what makes this okay. I'm choosing to help you save that child. I love you, Olivia, now go," Alex whispered.

"I love you, too, Alex," Olivia whispered as tears ran down her cheeks. She turned quickly and grabbed Annabelle, racing down the stairs.

As she got to the bottom, she shouted for Cragen, who appeared at the foot of the stairs. She shoved Annabelle into his arms and raced back toward the love of her life. She heard the thump of a body on the floor before she even got halfway back up the stairs.

"NO! Alex!" Olivia screamed.

Racing back up the dark staircase, Olivia didn't notice the tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn't acknowledge the fear that was making her heart race. Olivia heard a door ahead of her slam and yelled for the attorney again. Finally bursting through the door into the room where she had left Alex, the detective saw her crumpled on the floor. "No," she whispered, "no, no, no. Alex, baby, please be okay." Olivia dropped to her knees as, shockingly, Alex sat up holding her head.

"I'm okay, Olivia, I'm okay. She shoved me and I hit my head. That's all. I'm okay," Alex reassured the crying woman. "I'm really okay, Liv. Look at me, I'm fine."

Olivia didn't look at her; she was too busy pulling Alex's lanky body against her own. "No, you're not. She cut your neck, Alex. There's blood on your neck."

"It's just a scratch, honey. I'm really alright. Go get that bitch, she went through the last door."

"I can't, Alex. With my knowledge of this house, I'll end up lost and trapped and we'll both be left completely vulnerable. There are cops surrounding the property, she'll never get away."

"So, what do we do?" Alex asked as she stood up slowly, wincing as her blood pressure shifted and caused her head to pound.

"We go downstairs and help Annabelle. We leave that bitch for the others to catch and then we prosecute to the fullest extent of the law," Olivia answered quietly as she, too, stood slowly. Her right hand went to her rib cage and she stumbled to the nearest wall.

"Olivia, you have to get to a hospital," Alex sounded panicked again.

"I know, Alex, but first we have to help Annabelle," Olivia placated.

She reached her arm out to Alex, silently asking for help walking.

"I don't understand how you lasted so long. How did you carry Annabelle down the stairs and then run back up them? You look like you're about to keel over," Alex questioned.

"Adrenaline will do it for you every time."

Alex reached her arm gently around Olivia's waist and pulled the shorter woman firmly but tenderly against her own body.

"Let's go help that little girl and bring her back to her parents so that we can get you well. Okay?"

Nodding, Olivia moved with the taller woman toward the staircase. They slowly made their way back to the main floor of the house listening carefully for any noise behind them and for Cragen below. They faintly heard him using his calm voice to speak to Annabelle. When they got to the bottom of the staircase, they found Annabelle cowering inside Olivia's button-up shirt with her face in the corner of the small foyer.

"Olivia! Alex! You came back," the little girl cried loudly. She ran to the two women and buried her face between them. "Don't leave me. Don't leave me." The child was clearly traumatized and just kept repeating herself.

"Hey," Alex calmed, "Annabelle, we're right here. You're going to be fine." Alex awkwardly rubbed the back of the child in front of her while still holding on to Olivia. She felt Annabelle start to tremble and carefully released the woman next to her to lift Annabelle onto her hip. "Should we go now?"

"Yes, yes, please don't leave me again," the little girl cried.

"Okay, let's go get in Olivia's car. Our friend George is going to drive us, okay? That way Olivia and I can sit in the backseat with you," Alex continued to calm the child.

"I'll contact the force from Jersey so they can get in touch with Annabelle's parents. Head back there so she can be taken to a hospital near her home; I'll call you soon with the exact location."

"Did you hear that, Annabelle? Olivia and I are going to take you to see a doctor so you can feel better and we're going to call your parents so that they can meet us there. You're going to see your family soon, Annabelle," Alex told the scared little girl.

Annabelle just nodded, still trembling a bit. The women slowly made their way out to the car to wait for Huang. He was only moments behind them and the four started their journey back.

Hours later, after an amazing reunion between Annabelle and her family and bringing the evidence collected from the little girl back to New York, Alex and Olivia said good-bye to George and headed, once more, to the hospital. Knowing what they were going to find, the women were at least relaxed.

As Olivia filled out the paperwork, Alex talked about what they might do with their time off.

"You talk about it like we're going on vacation," Olivia laughed. "I'm probably going to be told to rest and recuperate."

"Yes, but there's no reason you have to sit in your apartment in the city to do it. We could go up to Maine and get a cabin on a lake somewhere. We could rent a little cottage in Cape Cod. We could-"

"Alex, let's just get through the night, first," Olivia said solemnly.

"Am I being too forward? I'm assuming things we haven't decided, aren't I?"

"No, Alex, it's not that. I'm just... I can't just assume I'm going to get a huge amount of time off work. I could be cleared in a few days. I don't want to get our hopes up and then disappoint us both. Not to mention that a few short hours ago, you weren't sure you even wanted to have this conversation because I'm such a jerk. Remember?"

Alex just looked at Olivia, nodding slightly. She was clearly deep in thought. "You're right, of course. I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's just get you out of here and then will see where the conversation leads. After all, this could've just been the intensity of this case, right? I don't want to hold you to anything you might've just said in the heat of the moment." Alex turned away trying to hide the tears threatening roll down her cheeks.

Guilt was pulsing around inside of Olivia at Alex's uncertainty but she wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want to make promises she couldn't keep or pressure Alex into a relationship she didn't really want. Olivia also couldn't help but doubt that Alexandra Cabot, ADA, richer than rich, would truly want a relationship with her, a cop with alcoholism in her family that was alive as a product of rape. She couldn't just pretend she hadn't meant what she had said earlier though, either. So, she finished filling out the papers and handed them back to the admitting nurse before reaching for Alex's hand and leading her gently to an empty corner of the ER. "Alex, I think we both know that we've been through too much to allow the intensity of a case to manipulate our feelings. We're adults and I doubt either of us would be fooled by the adrenaline rush of catching a perp or saving a child. I meant what I said to you, Alexandra Cabot, and I want to see where this could lead. I just don't want to disappoint you."

The tears did roll, then, down Alex's cheeks. "You could never disappoint me, Olivia, unless you start calling me Cabot, again."

They both laughed a little, leaning in towards one another. Their eyes caught and held and the world around them slowed down just a bit to let the two women fall gently into one another. Alex's hand came up and her fingertips grazed Olivia's cheek, and then slowly slipped down and around the back of her neck to tangle in her hair. They kept eye contact as their breath mingled and they held one another captive. When their lips finally met, Alex thought her heart would beat right out of her chest. She knew, finally, that she was where she belonged. No more excuses, no more avoiding, no more WitSec; she would stay by Olivia's side and together they would be stronger, they would be complete. It didn't matter if they took a week off or a month off or only a few days. What mattered to them then was that they would do it together.

"Alex!" Olivia burst out.

Frightened, Alex thought she hurt Olivia, "What? Did I lean on you? I'm sorry, where does it hurt? I'm going to tell them they have to take you in right now!"

"No, no, Alex, I just realized something. If we go away, if you take vacation time right now, you won't get to try this case. You won't be the one that puts that Baldwin bitch away. Don't you want to?"

"Of course, I want to, Olivia, but it's always something. We always have a case I want to prosecute and we always have a criminal I want to put in jail. I can't keep putting my life on hold for the next big case. I have to be myself sometimes, too. I have to have a chance to be whole."

"And you want to take that chance with me?"

"Of course, I do. And there's no doubt that she'll be found guilty. In fact, I doubt this case goes to trial. She'll probably just plead guilty and get a deal. Remember, the whole reason she did this was to tarnish her family name so I'm not really worried about it."

They fell silent again. Both were lost in thought about what the next few days could bring. Would it work? Could they really be together? What if they weren't allowed to continue to work together? Neither could find the answers in the Emergency Room waiting room but they each decided on their own that they were going to do whatever it took to make sure they had a chance to find out.

After all, they both deserved a chance at happiness, why not take it together? And there, in that hospital, surrounded by plastic chairs and crying people, they intertwined their fingers and smiled, happy just to be together.

A/N: If you made it to the end, thanks for reading! I'll probably post a sequel; I'm just trying to decide where they should go away.


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